


Airship Sidewinder #2: The Eyes Have It

by TMW



Series: Airship Sidewinder [4]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 15:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 61,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1231825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMW/pseuds/TMW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a year since the massive sea battle that crippled Sidewinder and left the crew wondering if the Baron really died or if he's still lurking in the skies. With a worldwide summit approaching to discuss lifting the technology bans, pirate captain Ty Grady is convinced the Baron will show and wreak his own brand of chaos on the festivities. Meanwhile, ghosts from Kelly Abbott's past creep out of the shadows when Sidewinder receives valuable information concerning the project he was forced into as a child.</p><p>But when a new enemy enters the playing board and one of their own succumbs to his own demons, the crew of Sidewinder must make terrible decisions or risk being torn apart from the inside out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monkey Bars

**Author's Note:**

> Also found at airshipsidewinder.tumblr.com.
> 
> Thanks to Ami, Mel, and D for their beta eyes and cheerleading.

Kelly crept along the main beam near the ceiling that ran the length of the large timber and stone lodge. His bare feet gripped the cool wood as he moved from brace to brace across the massive room. He crouched in the shadows, his overly bright eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Hidden but still able to track his quarry without issue. Even with the dark lenses, the candlelit lodge was as bright as a cloudless sky to him thanks to his specially enhanced vision.

Occasionally, he wondered what it would be like to see things like everyone else did. To see shadows instead of what lurked in them. Sometimes, he really didn't want to know what people did in the dark when they thought no one could see. He'd tried to remember what it was like to see normally. Back when he was all sharp corners and no muscle with two different colored eyes and no voice. But monsters with eye drops lurked in those shadows so he stopped trying.

He watched his mark walk the length of the room to the bar and converse with the bartender. Kelly couldn't catch what they said over the din of the other patrons, but he shifted as the man sat at the bar and enjoyed a beer. Every so often, the man would glance at the door as if he were expecting someone.

Kelly adjusted his crouch so he was a little more comfortable, his bones settling into the remembered patterns of tight spaces and slices of shadows. He took note of the rest of the room, making a list of those who might have worthwhile valuables on their person, laughing silently at some of the lavish trappings of supposed station. His practiced eye picked out the impostors from the real thing—those who wore rings on every finger because it was all they had left versus the still-shiny corners of elbows and knees. While he knew he'd return to the ship with information, he'd also like to return with something fun. Maybe find something for Nick to tinker with. He smiled at the thought, his body warming at the mental image of a particular crooked smile and striking green eyes.

After a half an hour, the bartender returned and slid an envelope across the bar to the man, who read it, nodded, and stood up. But, instead of leaving the lodge by the front, he walked around the bar and went through a side door.

Kelly smirked to himself and snuck along the beams. The exceedingly helpful thing about this lodge is that the walls didn't go all the way to the ceiling. They acted more as dividers rather than slabs of privacy. Kelly easily moved from the main room to one of the smaller rooms behind the bar. He moved quickly, keeping his balance without a problem. He stuck to the shadows as the din of the main room faded away.

His prey headed to a door at the end of a long hall, paused, and glanced up with a frown. Kelly froze for an eternal moment until the man, seeming satisfied, went through the door and entered a room where he was finally alone.

Kelly flexed his fingers a few times as he watched the man move around the room, heading for a safe on the far wall and opening it quickly.

Jackpot.

He walked over onto his hands until he was standing on them. With a steadying breath, he kicked his feet and swung down, his fingers sliding over the lip of the beam, catching on the edge so he could use the momentum to land with a muffled thud precisely behind the man. As he rose to his full height, his chest skimmed the man's back, and Kelly smiled slowly when the man froze.

Kelly leaned forward. "The next time your gut tells you you're being watched, trust it and leave."

The man snorted softly. "Captain Grady sends his monkey to fetch me? How lovely."

Kelly hummed, unaffected by the slight. "This monkey can snap your neck before you turn around."

"And I could gut you before you moved," the man replied, his voice equally unaffected.

Kelly smiled and pushed his glasses into his hair as he took a step back. "Death has made you more spiky. I'm not sure I like it."

The man turned around, an eyebrow arched and a wry smile twisting his lips. "I don't recall doing anything for your approval, Abbott."

Kelly held up the knife which had been hidden in the man's coat. His grin widened at the nearly imperceptible look of surprise that flashed across the man's face. "Captain Grady really wants to talk to you. So, are you coming, or am I snapping your neck? I have shit to do."

The corners of the man's mouth twitched. Kelly tilted his head to one side, the muscles along his shoulders and back lengthening and loosening as he felt the new presence a split second before the attack came. He dodged to one side and grabbed the attacker's wrist, twisting it as he stabbed the other man's palm with the pilfered knife. The man's yelled curse of pain cut off sharply as Kelly yanked, swinging the man around and nailing him in the face with his free fist. The guy slashed out with another knife, aiming for Kelly's chest. Kelly jumped back and kicked out, catching the guy on the outside of the knee and sending him crashing to the floor. A brawny arm encircled his neck from behind, cutting off his air supply abruptly.

Fucking hell, there were two of them.

Kelly growled in frustration then let his entire body go completely limp. The movement caught his new attacker by surprise, and he loosened his hold enough for Kelly to push up and drive the back of his head into the man's face. He spun out of the choke-hold and saw the gun just as it fired with a silenced _whuff_.

And missed his head by an inch. The bullet embedded itself in the wall behind Kelly.

"Oh, don't you fucking _dare_ ," Kelly muttered as he batted the gun to the side and grabbed it with his other hand, pulling it free and spinning it around with ingrained muscle memory. He shot the man in the throat without hesitating, then shot the man on the floor in the head before his first victim even hit the floor.

The entire encounter ended in less than two minutes.

With a bored expression, Kelly sighed and pointed the gun at his mark. "Again, are you coming, or am I shooting you? I have shit to do."

The man cocked an eyebrow, glanced at the two bodies in a disinterested fashion, then nodded once. "After you, Abbott."

Kelly made a sweeping gesture toward the door with the gun as he pulled his glasses over his eyes again. "No no, after you, Preston."


	2. Out of the Ashes

Nick leaned against one of the gnarled posts holding up the food stall and eyed the massive lodge across the cobbled street. Two steam-powered carriages rolled past, pulled by bronzed clockwork horses. The sunlight glinted off their spiked manes and inlaid crystal eyes as steam billowed from their nostrils in the morning air. He idly wondered how much of a shit-fit Ty would pitch if Nick kept a few horses on the ship.

He'd long since finished a chicken kabob—a gift from the stall owner after he'd delivered replacement parts to fix her son's clockwork leg. They were salvaged parts, but they fit properly and were far better than what the boy had been limping along with. He chewed idly on the wooden skewer as his gaze narrowed on the lodge doors. _Come on, Kels._

"Another?"

Nick glanced over at the older woman and patted his belly. "I've had six already. Save some to sell."

She shook her head with a smile. "You helped my boy walk today, O'Flaherty. I only wish I could give you more than chicken on a stick."

He warmed under her praise and shifted in embarrassment. "Kids should be running around. It was the least we could do. And don't knock your chicken on a stick. You need to teach me how to make that."

She patted him on the arm as she moved away toward a customer. "You Sidewinder boys are good people."

He chuckled as he turned his attention back to the lodge. Good was such a relative term. It changed depending on who you spoke to. Down here on the streets among the food stalls and the grime and smog and the clawing to survive, Nick's captains and the rest of the Sidewinder crew were hailed as heroes. Robin Hood and Santa Claus. Angel. Savior. 

He'd heard them all in one form or another.

Mercenary. Killer. Thief. Pirate. Devil.

He'd heard those, too, but those words usually spilled from painted lips and coiffed hair. From bodies robed in finery and doused in so much perfume it made his eyes water.

_Good_ was such a relative term.

He flipped the skewer across his knuckles a few times then stuck it in his mouth again. A prickling sensation ran up the back of his neck. He bobbed his head from side to side, cracking the vertebrae with satisfying pops, and rolled his shoulders back as he casually looked around. First glance and he couldn't figure out what had pinged his internal alarm.

"Hey, Johns?" Nick murmured.

Three stalls down and across the street, Owen angled his head to the side, having heard Nick as clearly as if he were standing right next to him.

"I think we're being watched, but I can't peg anyone right off. You sense anything?"

Owen went perfectly still then barely shook his head.

Nick made a frustrated noise. "Kelly's taking too long."

An elegant shoulder shrug as Owen picked up an intricate-looking tool and examined it closely.

"You are entirely unhelpful. I should salvage you for parts."

Owen scratched the back of his head with his middle finger. Nick laughed quietly and rolled the skewer to the other side of his mouth. The doors to the lodge banged open and Nick grinned as Preston came out, looking very irritated. Kelly trailed behind, far enough away to look casual but close enough to tackle Preston should he decide to bolt. Nick pushed off the post, threw the skewer to the side, and headed across the street. Owen passed a coin purse over, waved away the change with a shake of his head, and pocketed the tool as he headed down the street toward them.

"Everything okay?" Nick asked when he reached them.

Kelly nodded, the side of his mouth ticked up in a smirk. "This asshole had friends. One of them tried to shoot me."

Nick went still and his chest tightened. "They did what now?"

"That was a really bad idea," Owen commented seriously as he arrived.

"Oh?" Preston asked in a bored voice.

Owen nodded seriously. "In case you forgot, this is Kelly's Bear. You don't poke the bear."

"Are you okay?" Nick ignored them and focused on Kelly, his gaze skating over his lover's body, looking for injuries. There was some slight discoloring around Kelly's neck like he'd been grabbed and choked. Nick ground his teeth and curled his hands into fists.

"I'm fine. Stabbed one. Shot them both." Kelly waved a hand dismissively and bounced on the balls of his feet, causing the various pockets on his worn pants to jingle faintly. "Can we go? My pants are going to fall off."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Hate it when that happens. Put everything in here." He motioned to the nearly empty leather satchel slung across his chest.

Kelly winked as he passed Nick a small handgun. "Got you something shiny," he drawled.

Nick hummed as he hefted the gun and flipped it over in his hands, examining the silencing mechanism and tiny scope mounted to the barrel. "Nice, babe."

"Are we going, or are you going to shoot me? Both are preferable to listening to you two verbally sex each other." Preston asked, deadpan.

Kelly cackled as he emptied his pockets into Nick's leather satchel. "You haven't even begun to hear me verbally sex him." He rolled up on his tip-toes and pressed his mouth to Nick's. "Meet you at the ship. I have one more stop to make."

"Be careful," Nick growled against his lips as he tugged on a lock of Kelly's shaggy, brown hair.

Kelly saluted Owen and Preston then melted into the bustling crowd of the open-air market.

Owen frowned slightly. "Where's he going?"

Nick shrugged as he adjusted the satchel strap so it lay better. "Maybe to find you a new eye." He gestured to the patch over Owen's right eye.

"That would be fantastic," Owen muttered as he prodded the leather circle covering the currently vacant socket. A run-in with a rival ship two weeks ago had resulted in Owen being stabbed in the eye. The guy, not knowing Owen was an automaton, thought he'd killed him. Fucker got the shock of his life when Owen calmly pulled the knife—and his now-dead eye—out of a sparking socket and used it to stab his attacker in the throat.

Nick patted him on the shoulder as he turned to Preston. "You coming quietly?"

"As opposed to what? Loudly? Merrily? Jauntily?" Preston arched an eyebrow. "The docks, I suppose?" He turned and started threading through the crowd.

"We could stab him in a non-vital area," Owen suggested as they followed.

Nick snorted. "He'd complain too much, and then I'd be forced to stab him in a vital area."

Owen snickered.

The trio wound through the cobbled streets, Nick watching Preston closely and Owen watching their surroundings. Ever since Sidewinder became the flagship of the Pirate Armada, the crew had become extremely popular. Namely, to bounty hunters or anyone wanting to make a quick buck turning them over to authorities.

"Someone is following us," Owen murmured just loud enough for Nick to hear. "Across the rooftops to our right."

"Anyone we know?" Nick muttered back.

"Not that I can tell. Guy's good though. I keep losing him before I can get a good look at him."

"He's staying on your bad side."

Owen smirked. "Come on now, I don't have a bad side. Keep heading to the ship?"

"Yeah. Don't want to risk anything with him here." Nick gestured to Preston, who was glancing at them over his shoulder.

"I can hear you, you know," Preston sighed.

"As long as you keep walking, don't care," Nick said. He palmed the new gun Kelly'd given him and checked the clip. Missing three bullets. A spike of anger shot through him as he realized one of those was probably the bullet that nearly killed Kelly. His Kelly. 

"Down, boy," Owen said in a low voice as he no doubt detected Nick's shift in demeanor.

Nick huffed. "You're way too sensitive lately."

Owen shrugged a shoulder. "It's nice knowing when any of you are about to pop off."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Still have a friend?"

"Yep. He's staying back for now."

As they neared the ocean docks, the market stalls evolved to sea-related fare—fresh fish, crabs, the occasional lobster or bushel of clams, and all manner of jewelry or trinkets made from shells and sea glass. Nick wondered how much of this Kelly had already perused. He wouldn't steal from stall owners, though, unless they were well-known assholes or cheats. 

Nick checked his pocket watch as they headed along the massive rock wall that overlooked the miles of wooden docks in each direction. Ships of all sizes and shapes dotted the long, wooden platforms. Nick eyed them as they walked, making mental notes of flags, sail colors, and mastheads. He raised an eyebrow at a few luxury cruise liners further out in deeper ocean. Kelly would have a field day on one of those. A wind kicked off the ocean and rolled inland, bringing with it the sharp tang of brine, undercurrents of fish and sweat, and scents of steam and wood smoke.

"I don't see your ship," Preston commented as he glanced over the wall.

"Not down there," Nick grunted. He led the way to the Airship Docking Platforms—massive wooden or metal slabs built into part of a cliff face. Smaller airships dotted the platforms near the ground, increasing in size as the levels ascended. Massive battleships and cruisers occupied the topmost level.

"You got her flying again?" Preston sounded slightly impressed.

Owen chuckled. "Oh yeah, we got her flying again." He veered to the left, toward the lifts that only went to the very top.

"You have a top level dock? Who did you blow to get that?"

"Your mom." Nick pushed Preston toward the lift. "Actually, the vast majority of dock attendants are poor as fuck. Providing them with necessities their families need earns you favors."

"Your bleeding heart will get you killed one day." Preston entered the lift behind Owen and turned to Nick. "There's no such thing as karma or good vibes. There's only looking out for yourself and collecting the favors that benefit you and you alone." He leaned closer, his blue-eyed gaze raking Nick's face. "This isn't a good world for attachments, Nicholas. Especially someone as talented as you."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Are you hitting on me? Because, while I'm flattered, Kelly's eyes are hotter than yours."

Preston smirked and turned back to the lift doors as they slid shut and the car started upward with a jerk.

The air grew cooler as they rose. They passed level after level, the ships growing larger and more ornate. With another jerk, the lift came to a stop. Nick opened the doors and made a sweeping gesture. "After you."

"So polite," Preston murmured as he headed out onto the metal walkway.

Owen hummed. "Nick's pretty damn polite. He'll ask you how your day went and how your mama is right before he snaps your neck for looking at Kelly wrong."

"Or making fun of the ship." Kelly dropped down from the edge of the roof shading the walkway. He grinned at Preston as he straightened. "Or threatening the Sidewinder crew."

Nick stepped up behind Preston and leaned in slightly. "Or just generally pissing me off," he whispered. He looked at Owen. "How much longer?"

Owen blinked twice then gave him a mischievous smile. "Deuce says they're right above us. They're coming down now."

Nick stepped away from Preston and folded his arms. Kelly moved away from the edge of the platform and stood slightly in front of Nick. Nick nudged him with a shoulder, causing Kelly to lean back into him a little. Warmth spread through Nick's body everywhere Kelly's touched his.

The cloud cover combined with fog rolling off the ocean and the general smog of pollution made visibility fairly difficult up here. Nick couldn't see more than five feet off the edge of the docking platform. A distant rumble drifted out of the clouds and a shadow materialized, growing larger and darker. The clouds swirled, rolling and tumbling as the shadow stretched and dominated the upper docking level. 

The black hull appeared first, punching through the clouds as a great ship lowered from the heavens with a steady thrum of massive engines that sent deep vibrations through the docks. A contented smile spread across Owen's face. Those engines were his design and very much his babies. Once he'd explained to Kelly and Ash exactly what he needed, it'd taken the thieves only a few months to five-finger-discount the appropriate parts.

The belly of the ship was four levels deep. The engines took up two bottom levels at the back end with a secondary set closer to the front of the ship which were connected to two massive turbines mounted just under the clipper-shaped bow, which was capped in dark metal and sharpened to a lethal point. Cargo, storage, holding cells, and Nick's workshop filled up the rest of the space on the bottom three levels. The armament took up the entire level just under the main deck. Portholes lined both sides at regular intervals for cannons and specialty guns Nick had designed with Ty's help.

The ship slowed as the main deck came into view. The captain's quarters filled the rear of the main deck, rising two stories into the air and capped with a flat roof that functioned as a private deck—complete with mounted turret gun. Just behind the masthead at the opposite end sat navigation, which also had a gun on its roof. The main cabin—for meetings and planning that included the entire crew or guests—sat in the center, the central mast jutting out of its roof like an overgrown tree.

Nick scanned the rest of the ship out of habit, making sure she was still intact.

They'd debated balloon versus sails for a long time and finally agreed on sails after Owen explained how he was designing the engines to do most of the work. They had more control over the ship, could turn tighter, could take advantage of various air currents higher up, and they weren't as screwed if one of the sails ripped. Kelly had exclaimed loudly that he never wanted to go through the intensity of trying to detach a punctured balloon from the ship ever again.

He still had the scar on his cheekbone as a reminder.

The triple masts and upper decks of the ship were still cloaked in fog, their shadows imposing nonetheless. Kitchen. Living quarters for the crew—everyone had custom-designed their own rooms since they had to rebuild so much. More guns. Crows nests. Rope and chain rigging connected almost every possible route across the ship. Two massive, metal structures jutted out of the sides of the ship—part support, part walkway—which held slim sails that arced gracefully up and down, appearing to softly cup the ship in their embrace. 

_Tighter steering_ , Owen had said when he talked them into building the monstrous wings.

She was a formidable sight of black wood, twisted dark metal, exposed gearwork, and bronze sails. She flew a black flag with a bronze skull and her name scrawled in blood red flowing script across the top.

It'd taken them a year to redesign and rebuild her.

But she was the prettiest and fastest damn airship in the skies.

Nick clapped Preston on the shoulder as two familiar silhouettes appeared at the far end of the walkway. "Welcome to Airship Sidewinder."


	3. Going Once, Going Twice

Ty Grady, one of two captains of Airship Sidewinder, waited at the far end of the walkway on board the main deck of his airship. He folded his arms, the metal fingers of his clockwork hand tapping out a rhythm on the opposite bicep, the worn leather of his long coat stretching and moving as he did. The slight breeze ruffled the edge of his coat, batting it lightly around his ankles as he narrowed his gaze at the figures on the other side of the walkway. He counted four silhouettes through the fog, which was good, since he'd only sent out three.

Three months of tracking were finally paying off.

Hopefully.

As the four figures came into view, he cut a quick glance to his co-captain and lover of over ten years, Zane Garrett. Zane's dark eyes narrowed on the walkway, his long fingers curled around a bronze pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. A black frock coat with charcoal dragons stitched across the sides stretched tight over his broad shoulders, the double rows of silver buttons tarnished from constant wear. Ty smiled to himself and made a note to revisit the Asian Republic for more clothes for his partner. The Mandarin style suited his build.

"Can I help you?" Zane murmured without looking away from the approaching party.

Ty smirked as he turned back to the group. "Just admiring what's mine."

Zane's chuckle rumbled low and dark. "Yours, huh?"

Ty hummed.

"I seem to remember you saying you were mine last night," Zane said quietly. "And this morning," he added as Ty's skin rippled with heat. Ty sniffed once and schooled his expression even though his ears flamed and fire crept up the back of his neck.

"There are times I'm really glad I can't read lips," Kelly said as he approached.

Zane snorted.

"You can't even see his." Ty jerked a thumb at Zane's mask which covered his nose to his chin and stretched up his jaw on either side. The effect was menacing enough, but served a larger, more practical, purpose of helping Zane's acid scarred lungs breathe by filtering and cooling the air.

Kelly shrugged lazily as he boarded the ship with a hop onto the railing. "Your face says plenty." He balanced on the smooth wood, towering over everyone else for once, and watched the rest of his companions board. He rolled his shoulders and fixed one of his suspenders as Owen hopped the railing and nodded a greeting to Ty and Zane.

Ty turned his attention to the tall, thin man who boarded just after Owen. "Preston."

"Grady," came the clipped response.

Ty blatantly looked him up and down. "You're looking very…alive."

Preston merely quirked an eyebrow in response.

Ty glanced at Nick, who rounded out the group as he climbed over the railing but stayed sitting on it, his green eyes narrowed on Preston's back. "Any problems?"

Kelly hopped down and rested a hand on Nick's knee. "He had friends who tried to kill me, but they aren't an issue anymore."

Nick shifted, his glower never leaving Preston. A muscle along his jaw ticked.

Ty arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

Kelly rubbed a palm along his jaw. "I shot them." He sounded bored and nonchalant, but Ty noted how he squeezed Nick's knee slightly and subtly shifted so he was in between Nick and Preston.

Zane made a sound that could have been a groan or a huffed laugh. Probably both.

"You son of a bitch!" came a shout before Ty could respond. A blur of pale skin covered in tattoos, dark hair, and dark eyes lined in kohl shot past Ty and tackled Preston before anyone could react.

Not that anyone made a move to stop Ash Lucroix as he straddled Preston's chest and punched him in the face twice. Ty shifted his weight and tilted his head to the side, shaking his head at Owen's raised eyebrows. The only other reaction was a slight smile that bordered on evil from Nick.

"Why weren't you on the sub? It was your job to protect the captain!" Ash growled in Preston's face. He balled up his fist and let another punch fly. A sickening crunch filled the air as Ash's knuckles shattered Preston's nose. "Where were you? Why weren't you protecting Ava?"

Preston said and did nothing to free himself. He closed his eyes and bore the brunt of the beating, tiny grunts escaping his lips and no more.

Ash curled his gloved fingers into Preston's shirt and yanked, pulling Preston's head off the deck. "Answer me, you fucking asshole!" He shoved Preston's head onto the deck with a dull thud.

"Okay, Ash," Ty said firm, but gentle, tone.

Ash froze but didn't move to get off Preston. His body trembled and his chest heaved with gasps. A red flush painted his cheekbones and slid down his neck under his shirt collar.

"Ash," Ty repeated.

With a growl, Ash shoved off Preston and stalked away, not bothering to look back, his spine straight and his shoulders rigid. Ty's heart clenched at the sight. He couldn't imagine how it felt to think you were the only survivor of the bombing of your ship only to find out there was not only one other survivor, but that he might have had a hand in the demise of your ship, your crew.

Your family.

Your home.

"Kelly, can you…" Ty waved a hand after Ash.

"Yeah, I'll give him a minute first." Kelly turned away as Nick pulled on his arm and murmured something in his ear. Kelly frowned and pushed his glasses in his hair, focusing over the railing of the ship, his bright eyes skating from platform to platform of the docks. After a moment, he shook his head and looked at Nick. "No one."

"You sure?" Nick asked.

Kelly nodded and rubbed his eyes with a faint wince. Even though he'd healed completely from his time in captivity, he still bore scars around his wrists and dealt with occasional headaches. Nick slid his hand around the back of Kelly's neck and frowned at him in concern. A sleek, white animal appeared along the ship's railing, causing a grin to split Kelly's face. "Cecily! Here, girl." The automaton weasel made a beeline for her owner, climbing up his outstretched arm to her normal perch on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Ty asked Nick as Zane grabbed Preston off the ground and pointed him toward the main cabin.

Nick ran a thumb over his lower lip. "We were followed back here. Owen caught sight of a guy a few times, but he's gone now."

Ty shrugged. "Probably someone looking to make a buck off us." He jerked his chin toward the cabin.

Nick pushed off the railing and rolled his shoulders back, his entire presence morphing and unfurling in preparation to confront Preston. He ghosted his fingertips over some red marks on Kelly's neck. "You coming or going after Ash?"

Kelly grabbed Nick's fingers and kissed them. "I'm going to make sure Ash is okay. Try not to shoot Preston."

Nick grunted, tugged on a lock of Kelly's hair, and followed Ty across the deck.

"What was that about?" Ty asked as Nick fell into step beside him. He side-eyed his friend of over two decades. Whenever Nick seemed on edge, it seeped into Ty's bones and lodged in his joints.

"I shouldn't have sent Kelly in there alone," Nick answered in a distracted tone.

"Seems like he got the job done just fine." Ty stopped outside the cabin door and folded his arms.

Nick dragged his teeth over his lower lip as he nodded. His gaze jumped around and his entire posture screamed high alert.

Ty frowned. Nick had always been pretty protective of his acrobatic thief of a boyfriend—a trait compounded by Kelly's brief capture a year ago at the hands of the Baron of Britannia—but this was different. "What's going on, O?" he asked quietly. A chill skittered down his spine and wrapped around his ribs, making it harder to breathe.

Nick waved a hand at his chest. "Funny feeling. I can't seem to shake it."

"About Kelly or just in general?"

Nick shrugged and blew out a breath. He tugged a hand through his red curls and smirked. "Not sure. It's probably nothing."

Ty nodded and spread his lips into a smile he didn't quite feel. You didn't get through life as a pirate without a healthy dose of respect for gut feeling and intuition mixed with a dash of superstition. "Let me know when it becomes something."

"I will." Nick patted Ty on the cheek before opening the door to the main cabin.

The interior of the cabin opened up in to a large split-level room divided into three parts—a sitting area, a massive solid oak table where the crew enjoyed meals together or the captains and first mate planned various shenanigans, and an observation deck on the upper level. Contraptions littered the shelves and tables—some of them Zane's, some of them Nick's. A few clockwork bugs skittered across window ledges. A massive clockwork jaguar stretched out across the couch, its chin on its paws. Barnum had commandeered the couch when it first arrived. No one had really been able to budge him from it except Ty or Ash.

Ty entered the room just as Zane snapped Preston's nose back into place with a quick movement and then handed him a handkerchief to stem the bleeding. Preston grunted in pain and blinked rapidly as he turned his attention to Ty.

Ty slid into his favorite chair and rested his elbows on the hand-tooled arms. "I would apologize about the nose, but…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Preston dabbed at the blood around his mouth. Swelling was already setting in under his eyes, giving him a ghoulish appearance. "I suppose I understand. How long has Lucroix known?"

"Not until we were sure." Ty gestured at Zane and Nick. "I knew he'd be mad so we didn't tell him until we were on our way here."

"How did you find me?"

Zane slid into the seat next to Ty. "I know a guy who knows a guy."

Nick took the chair opposite Ty at the other end of the table. "And they owed us favors."

Preston nodded, most likely knowing better than to ask for details. He'd either fucked up, enabling them to catch up to him, or he'd come out of the shadows on purpose. Ty wasn't entirely sure which one it was and, until he figured it out, it was best to tread carefully.

Preston cocked his head to one side. "Are we not taking off?"

Ty shook his head, letting his body settle into a lazy pose in the stuffed armchair. "You aren't our prisoner. We just want to talk. You're free to go whenever you want."

Preston snorted. "Of course I am." He settled back in his chair and looked at each of the men in turn, expression expectant.

Ty shared a quick glance with Nick before turning his attention back to Preston. "Epsilon Labs."

Preston quirked an eyebrow. "Never heard of them."

"Try harder," Zane said in a flat tone.

"We know they have a bounty out on your head and that they don't believe you're dead. They want a body and they don't care what state it's in." Ty fiddled with a loose joint on one of his clockwork fingers. "Apparently, they don't take kindly to people making off with copies of their top secret research."

"That was years ago," Preston said.

"And yet the research hasn't surfaced anywhere. No company has come forward with similar or better products. Which means," Ty leaned forward, "you still have it. My guess is insurance. As long as you keep it, you're relatively safe."

"Until they get irritated and decide to kill you anyway," Nick said as he folded his arms.

"And you want it?" Preston asked Ty.

Zane shook his head. "We want information on the labs."

Preston turned his impassive expression on Nick. "Your monkey just turned thirty, didn't he? Have the nightmares started yet? Or the headaches? What about the hallucinations?"

Nick remained silent, his face giving away nothing. Preston smirked and looked at Zane. "Why information on the labs?"

Ty watched a series of emotions flicker through Zane's dark eyes. Ty and Nick knew about the connection from Epsilon to the Carter family—mostly funding—but it was enough of a connection to make Zane want to take down the institution that strapped a terrified ten-year-old Kelly down to a bed and ran experiments on his eyes. Not to mention Nick was more than okay with this plan. He'd had a revenge-laden gaze fixed on the labs ever since he finally learned the entire story behind Kelly's eyes over a year ago.

"We have our reasons," Zane murmured in a dark voice. "Suffice to say, the more information you give us, the better chance we stand on our end." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "And if we're successful, the bounty will disappear and you can do whatever you want with the research."

Preston's gaze narrowed. "Just like that."

"Problem?" Ty asked.

"I find it difficult to believe you merely want me for information."

"I think he's hitting on you, Ty," Nick said with a grin.

Zane made a low noise in the back of his throat.

"Down, boy," Ty murmured.

Preston smirked. "Furthermore, you're asking me to simply trust you with valuable information and take you at your word that the bounty on my head will go away. That's asking a lot, Grady."

Ty tilted his head, conceding the point. "What's your price?"

"A ship."

Nick's eyebrows climbed his forehead. "A ship?"

"We have a few skiffs in the lower deck. You could take one of those if you want." Ty waved a hand to the door.

"You still command the pirate armada." Preston said it more of a statement rather than a question. "You have ships at your disposal. Accidents happen all the time."

"You want us to assassinate a captain of another ship in our own fleet so you can have a boat?" Zane asked.

Preston didn't answer.

Ty shook his head. "Nice try, but that would start a mutiny across the board, and I'm pretty damn sure you already knew that." He tapped his metal fingers on the table. "Get your own rig and we have a spot for you in the armada. Full protection, full inclusion, and we'll even put the word out you need a crew."

"But only if your information is worth it," Zane added.

"So start talking," Nick growled.


	4. Bird's Eye View

Kelly took his time climbing the rigging, letting his body take over and giving into the pull and slide of his muscles. The rest of the crew rolled their eyes with a chuckle at how much time Kelly spent in the ropes and chains that draped over the ship like weeping willow branches, but this was his zen. The exertion that came with keeping his balance and holding himself up a hundred feet over the deck while the wind whipped around him helped quiet his mind.

Especially lately.

A week after his thirtieth birthday was the first headache. A blinding, pounding migraine that made him want to carve his brain out with a spoon. They lasted an hour and hit him without warning, usually leaving him with aftershocks of dull aches that pulsed with his heartbeat.

A month later came the nightmares. Memories of his time as a child being experimented on braided with faces of people from his present. Nick strapped to a table. Ty in chains. Zane with glowing eyes that bled black tears. Owen and Deuce dismantled for their robotic eyes at the hands of faceless doctors. Ash, Sanchez, and Digger staring at him with lifeless expressions, the glow in their eyes dying as they did. He'd managed to keep them to himself until one was so horrifyingly real that he woke up screaming and scared the hell out of Nick.

He had no idea if this was all vestiges of his captivity last year at the hands of the Baron. Or if it ran deeper—if it had something to do with what happened to him as a child. He glanced down at the roof of the main cabin where they were meeting with Preston. He was better off finding Ash and hanging out with him. Kelly didn't know if he could be in that room and listen to them talk about the scientists who killed children all in the name of progress.

Kelly pulled himself up the last few feet to the tallest of the three crows nests. He grinned at Ash as he deposited Cecily on the railing. "Found you. My turn to hide. Count to a thousand then head to Paris. I know the perfect hiding spot."

Ash chuckled and scooted over, making room on the narrow bench for Kelly to plop down next to him. "Top of the Eiffel Tower?"

Kelly hummed. "If I told you, that takes the fun out of it."

Cecily climbed into Kelly's lap and crossed into Ash's, curling against his chest as if she sensed he needed the comfort. Even though she was completely mechanical, Kelly swore up and down a soul had lodged in the metal body. She always seemed to know exactly when she was needed for a snuggle and she was fiercely protective of Sidewinder's crew.

Ash didn't respond. He simply stared out at the clouds swirling around the sails. Visibility was just about nil up here, but neither of them minded. Ash flexed his fingers on his right hand, making a fist then releasing it. Over and over.

"How's your hand?" Kelly asked quietly.

"Hurts a little," Ash admitted. He held it up for inspection. Bruises painted the knuckles across the top of his fist. The skin split open in two places but only just. Nothing seemed broken or alarmingly swollen as Kelly prodded it gently.

"Do you feel better?" Kelly released his hand and leaned back against the low wall of the crows nest. He dragged his teeth idly over the twin rings on his lower lip.

Ash shrugged one shoulder. "Felt good to hit him."

"I bet. You got a few good ones in there. The head pound on the deck at the end was my personal favorite."

Ash barked a laugh, a half-smile curling one corner of his mouth. "How's your ink?"

Kelly pulled his shirt up and pushed the waistband of his pants down far enough to expose the clockwork heart inked just inside his hipbone. Ash leaned over and ghosted his fingers over it, examining his work with a critical eye. "Healed up nice."

"Itches like a motherfucker," Kelly grumbled but couldn't stop the smile. Ash had received a tattoo gun for Christmas and immediately set to work on the crew of Sidewinder. He was good at it. Really damn good. Once Nick had seen what Ash could do, first he'd asked Ash to extend the tribal swirls up his neck and down his back more. Then he'd pretty much seduced Kelly into getting one.

Not that it took much seduction.

But Kelly played hard to get.

It wasn't very big, but it was in Nick's favorite spot to kiss or bite, and he absolutely loved raking his teeth over that patch of skin. It was a simple heart designed to look like metal, complete with exposed gearwork. After Ash had sketched it and transferred it to Kelly's skin, Nick had snatched the pen and scrawled _Mine_ just underneath it. Ash had inked that, too, leaving Kelly with Nick's handwriting—and claim—permanently on his skin.

Plus, Kelly would never, ever forget the unrestrained heat in Nick's eyes as the tattoo took shape under Ash's gun.

"You want any more?" Ash leaned back, rolling his shoulders and neck.

Kelly shrugged as he situated his clothes again. "Maybe. Haven't really thought about it. Ink was always Nick's thing. Mine's more piercings." He waved a hand at the variety of adornments on his head—twin gold rings on the lower side of his lip, a small, gold hoop on one side of his nose, another hoop in the opposite eyebrow, and a handful up the shell of both ears.

Ash flashed his tongue barbell. "This is fun."

"Was thinking about it. Nick seemed…interested in the idea." A grin crawled over Kelly's face as he remembered when he'd brought up the idea.

Ash laughed. "I bet. Let me know and we can do it."

Kelly quirked an eyebrow. "You poke holes in people too?"

"I do enjoy poking people I like," Ash drawled.

Kelly laughed which kicked Ash off again, their cackling echoing down the sails and disappearing into the clouds like sprites. "Whore," Kelly said between fits of laughter.

Ash made a _bring it_ motion with one hand while he laughed.

Their laughter died off slowly, replaced with the far off sounds of the city. They sat in companionable silence for a while, and Kelly's mind drifted back to the main cabin and the discussion taking place.

"You okay?" Ash asked as he scratched Cecily's head.

"I should be asking you that." Kelly scrubbed his hands over his face and blew out a breath. "I hope Preston has the information, and I don't want him to at the same time."

"You want it to be over, but you don't want to face it," Ash said quietly.

Kelly nodded. "I wish I could go to sleep and, when I wake up, Nick tells me the lab fell into a sinkhole and everyone died. Morbid, huh?"

Ash shook his head. "Not at all. You have every right to wish terrible things on them after what they did to you."

Kelly shifted, still not entirely comfortable with the whole crew knowing the full extent of what happened. When it came to light that not only was Preston alive, but that he might have information that could lead to the destruction of Epsilon Labs, Nick had urged Kelly to tell everyone the whole story. At first, Kelly refused, saying that they could just tell the crew it was the lab that jacked up his eyes and leave it at that. But Nick slowly coaxed him around, finally convincing him that being honest and up-front with everyone was best. So he was. One painful word at a time, staring at the floor or a wall or Nick's knee or someone's boot—everywhere but the eyes of his shipmates because he didn't want to see the pity.

However, there hadn't been pity.

There'd been anger.

And a very strong desire to reduce Epsilon Labs to dust.

"Why now?" Ash asked. "Why at all? You've been free from them for years. Why go back into those memories?"

Kelly shrugged. "Nick wants to. Zane wants to."

"Not what I asked."

Kelly managed a weak smile at Ash. "They probably just replaced me after I left. Got another kid who didn't know what was happening. And maybe that kid died or is blind now. Years of kids with burning drops in their eyes and unable to be in daylight or a well-lit room without eye protection." He clenched a fist. "I should have gone back earlier. When we put the crew together and had the firepower. I should have told everyone what happened and bombed that fucking lab so no more kids would get hurt."

"It's not your fault," Ash said with a frown.

"But I knew what was happening and I didn't do anything. And who knows what they're doing now to them? They could have perfected stage three. Fuck, they could have a stage four or five now for all I know."

"Now, you're just getting yourself worked up." Ash held up a hand before Kelly could respond. "I'm on your side, man. I want to see that lab blown to kingdom come for what they did to you and the other kids. But it's Not. Your. Fault that you were experimented on. And it's Not. Your. Fault that other kids may have gone through the same thing since you escaped."

Kelly snorted and batted Ash's hand down. "You've been talking to Nick."

Ash shrugged a shoulder. "He's worried about you."

"I know," Kelly said quietly as Cecily climbed onto his shoulder and nudged her nose into his hair. "I'll be better when this is all over."

"I know," Ash echoed.

===

"We'll be in touch."

Preston raised an eyebrow at Ty, who watched him calmly with eerily golden eyes. He'd always found the pirate captain attractive, but, in deference to Airship Sidewinder's darker and deadlier co-captain, he'd never made a move.

Pity.

Ty held up an envelope. It was parchment and sealed with wax. The imprint of two of Ty's clockwork knuckles marred the soft, black lump. "This is our agreement. You bring us a ship, you're in the armada. No questions asked. Only," he held the envelope out of reach as Preston reached for it, "if your information brings down Epsilon."

Preston snatched the envelope and slid it into his coat pocket. "I'm sure you will find my information will bring you far more than you bargained for. But it's your fight, Grady."

Ty stepped back and gestured to the walkway leading back to the docks. Preston inclined his head once and climbed over the railing easily. As he headed down the walkway to the lift, the thrum of engines grew into a churning hum as the massive pirate ship made ready to leave her mooring. Preston paused at the lift, watching the black underbelly disappear in the clouds, leaving swirling fog and a hum in his bones in her wake.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye but didn't turn toward the man just in the shadows of the lifts. "Are you certain this will work?"

"Any undertaking motivated by revenge doesn't happen with a clear head," came the rumbling murmur. "You know this, my old friend."

"Where's your little bird?"

The man hummed. "Flying."

Preston swallowed the sense of unease that filtered through his chest. So many variables. So many things that could go horribly wrong. So many things that could succeed in wildly imaginative ways.

So many ripple effects.

"You realize," Preston said slowly, "That he will tear the world apart looking for his lover."

"I'm counting on it."


	5. A Pirate's Life for Me

"Are you certain?" Zane frowned at the copper box next to the navigation console.

A burst of static preceded the incoming response. "They tried to strike their colors before we came into range, but we saw the flag. It's one of the Baron's ships. They turned into the wind. Pursue?"

"Aye, pursue. Transmit your location and heading." Zane copied the coordinates as they crackled through the speaker. He glanced at the map spread out on the table to his left, rolling his eyes at the four knives pinning its corners to the tabletop. _Goddammit, Ty._ "At current speed, Sidewinder arrives in an hour if you need assistance."

"Copy that," came the response then the line went dead.

Zane tossed the charcoal pencil onto the table and sat back in his chair, brows lowered and eyes narrowed at the map. Black circles marked spots where the Baron's ships had been sighted over the past few months. Several circles had black slashes through them, indicating their own armada had destroyed them. Of the several commandeered, two had joined the pirate armada, preferring to work as gophers for the pirates rather than seeing the inside of a holding cell or worse. Those two circles had red X's through them.

That brought the Sidewinder Armada to fifteen ships—ten airships, four sea vessels, and one submarine.

The remaining circles scattered over the map like someone had thrown a handful of coins on the table. They made no sense. Either the Baron's fleet was fractured and running or something was up. Zane just couldn't see it yet. And being unable to detect a pattern frustrated the hell out of him.

A warm hand slid over the back of his neck and squeezed gently. "Chasing birds today?"

Zane leaned back into Ty's touch, his body relaxing by degrees as the warmth of his lover's touch suffused him. He tapped the map where the newest circle glistened. "Another sighting. We can be there in an hour if they need us."

"How many is that now?" Ty's hand moved to Zane's shoulder and the metal hand joined the movement, the touch turning into a gentle massage as Ty looked at the map over Zane's shoulder.

Zane's chin dropped to his chest and his eyes fluttered shut under the pleasant assault on his tense muscles. "Left? I count twenty so far. His fleet was larger than anyone thought."

"He used a lot of stealth operators. Ghost ships."

"I don't know if we're going to be able to find them all."

Ty hummed. "We don't need to find them all. We just need to keep poking at his fleet until he shows himself."

"You really believe he's still alive?"

The massage stilled briefly then started up again. "I do. I don't think he was ever in that battle. He wanted to either see what we could do or destroy us without lifting a finger."

"So why didn't he come after us all last year while we were grounded in Boston?" Zane frowned despite his body's insistence on falling asleep in this chair.

"No idea." Ty dragged his fingers through Zane's wavy hair and moved to sit in a chair next to the map. "Maybe he wants an actual fight."

Zane smiled gratefully and rolled his looser shoulders back. He pulled his breathing mask off and rubbed the skin chafed by the edges. "Nice push-pins, by the way."

Ty winked at him. "You weren't using them, and you have others."

"I like those ones."

Ty leaned toward him with an impish grin. "You like all your knives. Don't play favorites."

"How do you know I haven't named them?" Zane mirrored the movement, bringing their faces closer.

"Because that's a silly thing to do," Ty said with wide eyes.

"Says the pirate who named his gun." Zane cocked an eyebrow.

"Bulldog's special," Ty retorted before he pressed his mouth to Zane's.

The kiss streaked through Zane's body, unfurling warmth as it went. He'd kissed Ty hundreds—thousands—of times over the past decade but, lately he felt this overwhelming surge of gratitude whenever Ty kissed him. Part of him still couldn't believe Ty had forgiven Zane's secret. Zane half-expected it to come rushing out of Ty again in a flurry of anger and hurt and betrayal. But, instead, Ty continued to kiss him. To smile at him. To curl up with him in bed. To say _I love you_.

Ty slowly pulled away, adding a bit of teeth over Zane's lower lip. He smiled gently and turned back to the map, his expression turning thoughtful. He grabbed another charcoal pencil—this one red—and circled a spot on the western shores of Britannia where Preston assured them they could locate Epsilon Labs. "Kelly never mentioned hearing the sea."

"The lab was probably underground. Under a house or a barn or something else inconspicuous to passing travelers or overhead ships." Zane sat back in his chair and watched Ty. "Or he could have forgotten. It was a long time ago and I'd bet anything he's tried to forget all of it." Zane still couldn't quite wrap his head around everything that'd been done to the man when he was a child. And to have Kelly turn out so…normal…was equally as surprising. In all his life, Zane had never met another person who gave less fucks than Kelly. He was light-hearted and kind, a damn fine pick-pocket and acrobat, and a mostly self-taught medic. Kelly and Nick had been lovers for as long as he and Ty and, to all outward appearances (and sometimes overheard), they were happy and in love.

To find out such darkness existed in Kelly's past made Zane's chest ache. It also made him incredibly angry.

Ty tapped a metal finger on the red circle and chewed on his lower lip. His other hand spun the charcoal pencil across his knuckles. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"You really want to take down this lab?" Zane asked quietly.

Ty arched an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"Oh, I definitely do. But you know this will have consequences. We aren't taking out someone's backyard shed drug hobby. This is a fully operational experimental laboratory which has at least one government backing, if not more." Zane shifted uncomfortably. The government he referred to, of course, was the Carter Family of the Texan States. His mother. His lineage.

The past he ran away from when he was sixteen.

Zane sighed. "This means a lot of people with a lot more firepower than us suddenly being very interested in our whereabouts."

Ty snorted. "And that's different how? Darlin', I know what this is going to do, but if the tech ban gets lifted at the summit next month? One laboratory blowing up is going to be the least of anyone's concerns. All of these commonwealths," he drew an imaginary circle around half of The European Union and down into the African Parliaments, "will be in a tech race to catch up to these provinces." He drew another imaginary circle around the Asian Territories. "And everyone else will be flocking to the black market." He pointed to the Americas. "It'll be war down there. Whoever gets the biggest, brightest, most advanced tech rules the world."

"And you still think the ban will lift?" Zane stared at the map as something started to flicker in the corner of his thoughts.

Ty nodded solemnly. "Which is why we get this lab done and we take to the air and stay there until we have a better idea of what's going on on the ground."

"Because in a tech race, they won't get planes or ships," Zane said flatly.

"We're a ghost ship. That's what we do best."

Zane frowned at the map. "Wait a minute." He plucked the red pencil from Ty's fidgeting hand and drew a series of circles mimicking what Ty had just traced. "Holy shit."

The black circles representing the Baron's fleet ships were positioned over the provinces and territories who would most likely go to war with The European Union. A single black circle, the newest one radioed in this morning, floated above the center of The European Union. Zane pointed at it. "Isn't that where the summit is taking place?"

Ty's lips parted on a soft curse as his eyes widened. "The Baron will be there."

"Wait, what?" Zane spun in his chair as Ty lurched up and darted out of the cabin. "Dammit, Ty!"


	6. Two Points of Attack, or How Splitting Up Might Be a Bad Idea

"Well, holy shit," Nick muttered as he looked over the map laid out on the navigation table. He'd hustled to navigation after Ty had barked through the comm for his First Mate. Now, he, Ty, and Zane stood around the marked up map, staring at it thoughtfully.

"It's just a gut feeling, O," Ty said quietly.

Nick glanced at Zane, seeing the same expression mirrored in his dark eyes. Wariness. Trust. They'd learned to trust Ty's gut feelings above anything else. The man had a knack for just…knowing. Nick rubbed his thumb over his lower lip and nodded. "Okay, but we can't do both. It's either this summit or the labs."

Ty blew out a breath. "We split up. Four on the lab. Four on the summit. One to stay and watch the ship."

Zane snorted. "One of these days, we're going to realize it's not a good idea when we split up to get shit done."

Ty grinned. "Today is not that day, my love."

"We could send one of the other armada ships after one of these," Nick suggested quietly.

Ty shook his head. "The Baron is ours. I want Owen to get his shot at him. And the lab is for Kelly."

Nick nodded, knowing that'd be the answer already. These jobs were too big, too important, and far too personal to entrust to another crew.

Ty jabbed at the summit. "There's some sort of grand ball before the summit. We can infiltrate that. Unless we see an opportunity to grab the Baron, we just get tabs on him and track him from there. I wouldn't send more than four in there anyway. We'll get noticed otherwise. I want to know what that son of a bitch is up to." His finger swept west to the circled laboratory. "Meanwhile, the other group gets in, steals research, and levels the fucking thing to the ground."

"Why are we stealing research?" Nick asked.

"We need to know what they're doing," Kelly's voice drifted over from the doorway. "And who else is out there like me."

Nick looked over his shoulder, his gut cramping at the determined look on Kelly's face. He didn't like it when Kelly's smile vanished. It was like color left the world and all that remained were harsh lines and jagged edges. He wished he could will the lab to mysteriously disappear so Kelly could rest easier at night.

So his nightmares would stop.

Kelly stepped into the room and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't care how you divide everyone up, but I go to the labs."

"Kels," Nick said quietly.

He shook his head stubbornly. "I need to see that place die. I have to be there when it happens."

Ty squeezed Nick's shoulder and nodded at Kelly. "You'll lead the team."

"I'm going with," Nick said in a tone that offered no room for argument.

Kelly nodded, a hint of relief softening the lines of his face. Ty's hand fell away but Nick kept his gaze on Kelly as his insides twisted. He couldn't shake this sensation that everything would get so much worse before it got better. They were about to head down the darkest path in Kelly's memories and who knew what would trigger his lover or the longer, more tangible effects it might have.

Zane leaned over to the comm. "Everyone in the main cabin yesterday."

A chorus of "aye, aye" came filtering through the comm. Zane grabbed Ty's elbow and quietly pulled him from the room. He paused at the door and glanced at Nick. "See you down there in a minute."

_Straighten out your issues before you come plan this massive endeavor with the crew._

Kelly leaned against the wall and pushed his glasses into his hair. He rubbed his eyes and blew out a breath.

"Eyes hurt?" Nick asked gently, internally wincing at how coddling his voice sounded. He hated being worried about Kelly. He missed his light-hearted lover and was determined to do anything to get him back.

Kelly nodded. "Headache too."

_Your monkey just turned thirty, didn't he? Have the nightmares started yet? Or the headaches? What about the hallucinations?_

Preston's words echoed around Nick's skull, pinging off every memory of Kelly wincing as he rubbed his temples or waking up shaking and crying out in the night. Nick licked his lips. "Is it just headaches and the nightmares?"

Kelly frowned and looked at him. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just wondering."

The corner of Kelly's mouth curled upward. He held a hand out. "Why are you all the way over there?"

Nick pushed aside the worry eating a hole in his chest and slid his fingers over Kelly's palm as he walked over to him. Kelly rested his head against the wall as he peered up at Nick with a lazy smile.

"Much better."

"Yeah?" Nick slid his other hand over Kelly's hip.

"Yeah." Kelly's free hand carded into Nick's hair and coaxed him down until their lips met. Kelly sighed, a sound that always soaked into Nick's bones and wrapped him in warmth. He pressed against Kelly's body, sealing them from knees to chest, and bit at Kelly's lips as he brought their joined hands up and pressed Kelly's wrist against the wall near his head. Kelly smiled against his mouth and bit Nick's lower lip hard, swiping his tongue over the abused skin. Nick growled softly and pressed harder against Kelly, pinning him completely to the wall.

Nick tore his mouth away, trailing kisses and bites down Kelly's jaw to his neck where he latched onto the rapidly thrumming pulse under the tanned skin. Kelly gasped, yanking uselessly against Nick's grip, his other hand clawing at Nick's neck and shoulder. His hips rocked against Nick's, seeking friction as his groan echoed through the tiny room. "Fuck, Nick."

"There's no lock on the door," Nick whispered. "And we don't have a lot of time."

"I don't fucking care. _Please_." His voice came out in a gasp and full of need, shooting through Nick's system like a bullet.

Nick pulled back and raked his gaze over Kelly's flushed cheeks and ridiculously bright eyes. His eyes always grew brighter when he was aroused and, right now, they reminded Nick of moonlight. Bright white and soft. He leaned in and kissed Kelly hard and consuming, swallowing Kelly's moans while he thumbed open the button on Kelly's pants. Kelly groaned and tried to help, shoving at his pants with his free hand. Nick smiled against his lips, stealing one last kiss before he sank to his knees.

A thud rumbled through the wall as Kelly let his head drop against the smooth wood, whispering a string of curses to the ceiling as Nick yanked Kelly's pants down enough to expose his cock. Nick didn't waste what little time they had, taking Kelly's dick to the back of his throat in one smooth motion. Kelly's hand landed in Nick's hair, fingernails scraping across his scalp. This wasn't slow and methodical, designed to tease and play. This was hard and fast, focusing on the end game before it even started.

And Nick loved every second of it.

He pulled off, grinning as Kelly's hips moved to chase his mouth. He wrapped a hand around Kelly's cock and stroked while he sucked on two of his own fingers and smiled up at his lover's face. Kelly had both rings of his lower lip piercing in his mouth and was sucking on them, the muscles along his jaw feathering. His eyes blazed white and blue with lust and heat and so many other emotions which made Nick's heart ping around his rib cage.

Fucking hell, he loved this man.

Nick pulled his fingers out of his mouth and leaned forward again, licking a long line from the base of Kelly's cock to the tip, before pulling it back into his mouth while he reached between Kelly's legs to press his slick fingers against Kelly's asshole. Kelly groaned again, a steady chant of cuss words in several different languages spilling from his lips.

Nick sucked him deep, humming as he slid one finger into Kelly's body. Kelly gasped, his fingers tightening in Nick's hair briefly before falling away and clawing at Nick's shoulder.

"Nick…babe…"

After so many years as lovers, Nick had expert knowledge how to get Kelly off in the least amount of time possible—something he didn't usually go for. But, with such a short amount of time and Kelly's nerves fraying around the edges, Nick used every trick in his arsenal to bring Kelly right to that brink and shove him over. Hard.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh _fuck_ ," Kelly gritted out as his fingers curled into Nick's shirt so hard, Nick felt Kelly's nails scrape across his tattooed skin.

Nick pulled off again as he slid a second finger into Kelly. "Come on, babe. Want you down my throat."

Kelly's hand landed on Nick's head again and he tugged, growling as he shoved his dick in Nick's mouth. Nick took it with a groan and swallowed, heat rolling over him as Kelly shouted and spilled down Nick's throat. Kelly curled over Nick's head with a plaintive moan, his knees giving out. Nick pulled back enough to wrap an arm around Kelly's waist and lower him to the floor. He grinned, watching the other man come back to himself after flying apart so violently. His eyelids fluttered over bright eyes. Crimson painted his cheekbones. His lower lip was slightly swollen from biting it over and over again. The pulse point in his neck hammered as his heartbeat took its time coming back to normal. His entire body seemed boneless and languid.

Kelly coming down from an orgasm was one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Nick ran his knuckles over Kelly's cheek. "You okay?"

Kelly hummed, nuzzling his face against Nick's palm. He smiled and blinked a few times to focus on Nick's face. "That was intense."

"Good," Nick grunted. "You needed it." He rose to his feet, wincing at stiff knees, and held a hand out for Kelly to take.

Kelly narrowed his eyes at Nick as he accepted the offered hand and rose on unsteady legs. He fixed his pants and straightened his shirt, letting his suspenders fall to his hips and smack his thighs. "What about you?"

Instead of answering, Nick slid both hands over Kelly's cheeks as he kissed him gently. Kelly wound his arms around Nick's waist, his fingers finding their way under the roughspun fabric to Nick's bare skin. Nick pulled away just enough to rest his forehead against Kelly's and they stood there, silent and still, breathing each other in. This had been for Kelly, nothing more than that. A way to help him forget, if only for a few minutes.

"I'll be okay," Kelly whispered after a long moment.

"I know," Nick whispered back. He brushed his nose along Kelly's cheekbone, dropping a kiss on the scar there, then pushed away. "Come on, let's plan a bombing."

===

Ty rubbed his shoulder as members of the crew slowly filtered into the main cabin. The dock where his clockwork arm joined his human shoulder was irritating something near the bone. A constant ache pulsed in time with his heartbeat and he could swear he heard a faint grating sound in his shoulder every time he moved his arm. Unfortunately, the doctor who had originally installed the arm five years ago had retired and was living a happy, quiet life in the countryside.

"You okay?" Zane asked quietly as Nick and Kelly were the last to enter, both looking flushed and happy.

Ty nodded and shot Zane a reassuring smile. "Anxious to get this going."

Zane quirked an eyebrow but said nothing else. Ty stood at the head of the meeting table and waited for everyone to sprawl in chairs or on couches.

Meetings aboard Sidewinder were pretty informal.

"We think we know where the Baron is going to be," Ty said without any preamble. He jabbed the map where he'd unrolled it on the table. "The summit next month to discuss lifting the tech ban. Right now, the rest of his ships are positioned over and around territories who are poised to go to war to gain technological superiority over their neighbors. We received word earlier that another ship flying the Baron's colors was spotted in the clouds above the city where the summit will take place. I think he's going to be there."

"Why?" Elias asked. It wasn't a challenge, just curiosity, which made sense. You don't make a claim like that without backing it up.

Ty folded his arms, the grate in his shoulder sounding loud in his ears and slinging pain across his shoulder blade. "He'll want firsthand information on the progress and outcome of the summit. He won't want to rely entirely on spies. His pieces are all over the board, and he needs to be at a good location in order to maximize their effect."

"Why not send one of his android look-a-likes?" Owen asked, a slight bitterness tinging his tone. Technically, he'd been created by the Baron to replace the real Owen Johns three years ago. He'd harbored a deep resentment since finding out his memories were false and his entire existence had been a lie. If anyone had the right to put a bullet between the Baron's eyes, it was Owen.

Zane shook his head. "They'll have scanners in place. The only clockworks allowed will be serving staff at the ball beforehand."

"Which is how we'll get in," Ty added.

Eyebrows rose around the room. "You want us to go to a dance?" Digger asked.

"Afraid of fancy clothes?" Kelly grinned.

Digger leaned back his chair and put his hands behind his head. "Shit, I'll look better than all you hoodlums combined."

"Abbott'll have to wear shoes," Ash pointed out with a smirk. Kelly flipped him off.

"Actually, Kelly isn't going," Ty said. "The ball is one part of the plan. Epsilon Labs is the other."

Tension slithered into the room and notched the temperature up a few degrees. Kelly's bright eyes focused on Ty, who nodded at him to take over.

"I'll be taking a team of four men into the labs to steal as much research as we can. Then we'll be wiping the place off the map." His voice held an edge no one had ever heard, and it sent shivers down Ty's spine.

"Nick, Ty, and Owen will round out my team." He looked at Ty and Owen for any protest. None came.

Zane looked at the rest of the men. "Deuce will come with me to the ball. As a bot, you can get in with the serving staff and spy from there."

Deuce nodded, his palm rubbing the new skin along his jaw from where he'd finally been able to cover years-old damage and look like a normal human again.

"The rest of you decide who comes with me and who stays with the ship. Throw darts, roshambo, rum shots, wrestling on the foredeck, don't care. But two with me and one with the ship." Zane's order was met with nods and mischievous glances exchanged between Ash, Elias, and Digger. However they were going to decide would be highly entertaining.

"We're splitting up because this needs to be executed simultaneously. Once the lab goes up, it will put several governments on high alert and disrupt the summit. We either need to know the Baron's plans or actually have the bastard in our hands before that happens," Ty said.

Owen frowned. "We aren't killing him?"

"Not yet. He knows too much. And, if we execute him without knowing his plans for his fleet, they'll move the second they hear of his death." Ty gave Owen a sympathetic look. "But, the second we can, you pull the trigger. You have my word as a pirate and your captain."

Owen nodded, looking slightly mollified.

Elias sat forward in his chair, his focus on Zane. "This pits us directly against your family."

Zane quirked an eyebrow. "Your point?"

Elias grinned and sat back. "All I wanted to know."

Zane snorted softly. "I haven't been Zachary Carter since I was sixteen. They can come after me all they want and get as angry as their money will let them. But their funding directly contributed to hurting someone I consider to be more my family than anyone in the Texan States."

Kelly's lips twitched and he swallowed. "Thanks, Zane."

Zane nodded once. A sense of pride mixed with anger rolled through Ty. He hated that the subject of Zane's pedigree came up every so often. He hated that Zane still felt the need to defend his choices and remind everyone he was still their dark pirate captain. Ty blew out a breath and waved a hand. "Go figure out who's going with Zane. Abbott, go figure out your plan for infiltrating the labs." He knew he sounded gruff but he didn't care.

Nick frowned at him but no one said anything. The cabin slowly emptied until only Ty and Zane remained.

Zane stared at the map with dark eyes. After a long moment, he pulled his breathing mask off and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Zane…"

"It's fine." He waved a hand and gave Ty a tired smile. "It was a fair response."

Ty blew out a harsh breath. "No, it wasn't. It's been over a year since they found out."

Zane reached over and intertwined their fingers, lifting Ty's hand to his lips. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Getting so defensive about it."

Ty rolled his eyes. "I love you, idiot."


	7. Masks & Monsters

_Switzerland_

Zane rested one gloved hand on the balcony railing as he surveyed the ballroom below. The highly polished marble flooring was hidden under boots and stiletto heels as costumed revelers swirled and undulated to the music which flowed through the crowd from hidden sources and pulled on their bones like a master puppeteer with her darlings. The fringes of the room were populated with clusters of wallflowers—young men and women dressed in their finest in an attempt to catch the eye of potential suitors or, even better, patrons. The dichotomy between old money and new money—tradition versus trend—was glaring in the bustled dresses with their high lace collars versus the striped leggings, artfully tattered skirts, and corsets.

Zane sighed behind the jewel-encrusted black mask that covered his entire face. This was once his world. Grand balls and parties were his life from the time he could walk until he ran away and faked his own death. Already, his body straightened, the muscles and bones remembering trained posture. His mind pulled up dusty memories of dance steps and he mentally followed the dance on the floor below. He knew exactly how to bow, exactly how to clasp a hand in greeting, exactly how to determine a title merely by their clothing. No matter how far he ran, his former life still clung to him like sludge. A permanent stain on his soul.

And in that moment, he would have given anything to be back on his dark and formidable pirate ship with its chains and splinters and rowdy mis-matched crew than there in all the glitz and jewels and pretentiousness the elite had to offer.

"You okay, boss?"

Zane glanced at the costumed figure next to him. The golden mask only covered the upper half of Elias' face. The rest of his scarred and weathered pirate body lay hidden under a dark suit and a black frock coat with tails that gently patted his calves when he walked. Tonight he was a Duke from some no-name province in the northeastern reaches of the European Union. Important enough to warrant an invitation to the ball but no one worth sucking up to for favors.

_That's the key,_ Zane had told them as he gave them an extremely abbreviated version of what to expect and how to act. _You're spoiled but not important. You belong here but no one cares. Don't give them a reason to talk to you, but don't give them a reason to shun you._

It was all a game he still knew how to play.

And part of him was very glad Ty wasn't here to see it.

"Fine," Zane said in a clipped tone. "Where are the others?"

"Deuce is in the back with the rest of the gearheads. Digger's getting his French on with a pair on the dance floor."

Zane smiled behind his mask at the sight of Digger moving effortlessly in the throng of bodies. Zane didn't know much about Digger's background but the man blended in and held his own just fine. "Any sign of the Baron yet?"

"Nothing. If he's here, he's got a damn good disguise."

Zane turned away from the railing and headed toward the grand staircase which twisted itself down to the bottom floor. The steps were marble inlaid with veins of gold. The railing, smooth to the touch, formed a giant snake, the head open with fangs bared at the dance floor.

Appropriate metaphor.

Zane let his fingertips barely graze the railing as he moved fluidly down the stairs. Elias followed by his side as someone of equal station as opposed to a pirate captain and his crewmate. "Go dance. Mingle. Might as well enjoy yourself while we're here."

"What are you going to do?" Elias watched the crowd with interest.

Zane's gaze narrowed across the ballroom. "Mingle." He inclined his head at Elias then turned away, keeping to the outskirts of the party. He wasn't the only one dressed entirely in black, but he was one of the few with a full mask since he needed a breathing filter as well. It'd been a little on the dangerous side sending Zane here, but he knew the most about this world plus Ty's clockwork arm, even covered with a glove, was too noticeable. The nobility didn't have scuffed and dented clockwork appendages. They had synthetic skin perfectly matched to their skin tone covering the finest prosthetics money and technology could provide.

Zane spotted Deuce with a tray of drinks. The automatons had to wear silver collars denoting their station, something Deuce had curled his lip at but done without protest.

"A drink, sir?" Deuce murmured as Zane stopped next to him.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible with this mask," Zane said politely. "Anything else on the menu?"

"Nothing so far, sir, but I'll be sure to let you know if I see something that might be of interest." Deuce bowed slightly and continued on, offering drinks to ladies in corsets and men in top hats.

Zane continued to move around the room, dark eyes assessing, trying to see beyond masks and finery to the person underneath. Trouble was, just as he could blend into this world without problem, so could the Baron.

A pair of partygoers dressed in what looked like French Revolution regalia—both with full face masks—jostled Zane then mumbled slurred apologies. He nodded at them while he checked his person out of habit, making sure he hadn't been pickpocketed. He frowned at their backs and then swept his gaze across the room again, counting at least six others dressed the same way.

Zane spotted Digger and threaded through the dancing crowd, let his body fall into the natural rhythms of the dance as he worked his way closer. A corseted young lady maybe half his age tried to get his attention, but he firmly yet gently pushed her to one side. She smiled widely at him and shimmied closer, her slim body aligning to his. He lowered his head to tell her off when he felt the muzzle of a gun press into his ribs.

"Dance with me, Captain," she purred in a low voice he could barely hear over the music.

He wrapped an arm around her and ducked his head as if they were trying to steal an intimate moment in the middle of a writhing crowd. "Who are you?"

"No one of consequence," she answered as her other arm wrapped around his waist. "The Baron sends his regrets. He was unable to attend this evening due to a previous engagement."

"Oh?" Zane angled his face away a little, scanning the crowd for Digger or Elias or Deuce.

She hummed as she moved against him. "Something about a research facility."

Zane's blood ran cold and he jerked. The gun shoved harder into his side, sending darts of pain across the curved bones of his ribcage.

"I have no qualms about pulling the trigger. It's not you he wants anyway." She tipped her head back and smiled. It was a pretty smile under the circumstances. Wide-eyed and a little drunk.

"Who does he want?" Zane reached a hand up and carded his fingers through her loose hair.

She leaned into the gesture. "Bright eyes and bare feet." Her voice sing-songed the answer.

He smiled even though she couldn't see it. "Thank you for your candor, miss." Digger's hands snaked around the girl and disarmed her quickly, pulling her against his chest with a laugh and a twirl as if he'd just been reunited with an old friend. Zane rubbed his side with a wince and scanned the crowd for Elias. He needed to find a radio.

He needed to warn Kelly.

He spun around only to face the same pair of French Revolution partiers from earlier. "Excuse me."

They tilted their heads in unison. Chills crawled down his spine as he took a step backward. A quick glance to his left and right revealed the others dressed similarly had also frozen in place, their heads tilted to one side. Zane's fingers twitched as he stood there for an endless march of seconds, waiting for their next move. Familiar presence joined him on either side, but he didn't bother to ask Digger what he'd done with the girl. For now, he was immensely grateful two of his men were with him.

"Where's Deuce?" he asked quietly.

"I couldn't find him," Elias answered in a low tone.

"We need to get out of here," Zane said.

"Good plan," Digger murmured. "What do we do about Creepy and Creepier here?"

As if to answer, the two figures turned their heads to face Digger. Digger made a low growling noise and, before Zane could stop him, reached up and yanked one of their masks off.

"Holy shit!" Digger yelled as he stumbled backward. "That ain't right!"

Zane froze even as the crowd started to pick up on the disturbance, blinking at the exposed face—if you could call it that—in a mixture of horror, disbelief, and awe.

Whatever yellowed and mottled skin that didn't have black stitching holding it in place had fallen away, revealing a scuffed and grayed human skull underneath. Red robotic eyes gleamed from the blackened sockets. Wiring and pistons were visible amidst decaying tendons and vocal cords in the neck. A hint of spinal vertebrae wrapped in metal flashed through chunks of dead skin.

The creature smiled, the sight horrific and bone-chilling as desiccated lips pulled back over nearly empty gums populated with blackened or yellowed teeth. A clicking-whirr came from its throat as it moved.

"What the fuck is it?" Elias asked, horror lacing his tone.

Zane shook his head, barely registering the start of screams around him. "Automatons? Uh, zombies?"

"Automaton zombies. Are you fucking kidding me?" Elias pointed at one of the creatures. "This is not okay! I did not give anyone permission to do this!"

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew Zane's attention to the balcony. At least seven more masked figures in French Revolution costumes lined the railing. Several more entered the ballroom through various doors around the perimeter.

Zane rolled his shoulders back and slid two knives from the sheaths on his wrists. "Shoot the brain or sever the head from the body. It's the only way to bring them down."

"Are you serious right now?" Digger growled as he pulled a pistol from under his jacket. He ripped his mask off and threw it to one side.

"We need to find Deuce and we need to warn Kelly somehow. The Baron isn't here. He's at the labs and he's waiting for them. If you have another plan, I'm all fucking ears, gentlemen."

Elias cursed in about three different languages as he pulled two pistols out. "Get D, find a radio, get the fuck out of here."

Zane nodded as Digger aimed his pistol and pulled the trigger. A black hole appeared in the forehead of the right-hand clockwork. Black liquid oozed from the opening as it wavered then collapsed with a sickening crunch and buzzing noises.

Absolute silence rang in the ballroom for precisely two seconds before all hell broke loose.

Screams echoed through the still-playing music, creating a macabre dance number punctuated with gunfire and yells of pain and fear. Zane stabbed a clockwork in the throat, twisting the blade so the fragile spinal column snapped apart then kicked the body away with a well-placed boot to its chest. "Deuce!" he yelled, not caring who heard him, who knew him, or what else happened other than getting his men out alive. "Deuce!"

"Here!" Came a call from across the room.

Zane spun around and spotted Deuce nearest the patio doors, grappling with one of the unmasked clockworks. Deuce's face twisted into a snarl as he managed to get his arm around the clockwork's neck and gave a sharp yank. The creature's head snapped almost completely around and it flopped to the floor.

A hand snaked around Zane's head and snatched his mask off his face. He growled and turned around to face three clockworks, their own masks gone and their faces in various compositions of decay and metal. "Who made you?"

No answer.

A gun fired from somewhere behind him and pain seared across his bicep a split second before the clockwork on the end crumpled to the ground with a hole in its head. He didn't have time to think about the graze as he darted forward and drove his knife into the neck of the middle one. The remaining clockwork grabbed Zane around the neck and yanked backward, bowing Zane's back and exposing his neck. He twisted as his air supply diminished and pain screamed through his back. His heel slid on some black ooze across the marble floor and he crumpled, landing in a painful heap on top of the attacking creature. Pain flared in his neck when he landed and he blinked at the gilded ceiling, noting in a detached fashion that it'd been painted like night sky with constellations traced out in glowing lines. A boom echoed somewhere to his left and the pressure around his throat decreased.

"Garrett!" Digger appeared in his line of sight. "You okay?"

Zane groaned as he rolled out of the now-loosened grip of the clockwork zombie. "I think I was shot."

Digger crouched next to him and checked the rip in Zane's jacket. "Graze. You're fine. Get up."

Zane wavered on his feet, pain shooting down his back. His arm throbbed hot and angry. His neck felt jammed in the middle, which caused an ache to crawl up the back of his skull. "How many are left?" He looked around for his breathing mask.

"A few on the balcony," Elias answered as he drew up alongside them. He had Deuce in tow. "We need to get out of here before people realize we're not really fancy."

Digger snorted as he stretched his arm out and shot another clockwork between the eyes as it darted toward them. "I think we proved we weren't fancy when we didn't scream like the other assholes here."

"Deuce, you know where a radio is?"

Deuce frowned as he looked around. "Honestly, captain, we'll be better off getting back to the ship and heading straight for them. We can try to hail them on the way."

Zane ground his molars and nodded. He spotted his mask on the ground and swiped it up. "Get to the ship. Kill any of these undead sons of bitches that get in your way."


	8. Heave Ho, Thieves and Beggars

_Britannia_

Kelly's gut twisted as he stood in the shade of a large old-growth tree. Any other circumstances and he would have been reveling in the fresh air of the countryside. The grass warm under his bare feet, the sun gentle with just enough cloud cover to make it bearable for his shaded eyes. The sounds and smells of a polluted and over-crowded city far away.

The sweat sliding down his spine had nothing to do with the ambient temperature and everything to do with the large, white farmhouse at the bottom of the hill. He stared at the house, marveling at how unchanged it was since he'd last seen it eighteen years ago. It was amazing, really. Three stories and Victorian style with turrets and a wrap-around porch, the house provided the idyllic picture of safety and security.

The house was a damn good liar.

A warm palm slid over the back of Kelly's neck, breaking the spell of the moment. Kelly sucked in a shaky breath, glad Nick didn't do any more than put his hand on Kelly's neck. He didn't know what to feel right now faced with his childhood memories. His emotions pinged all over the place, bruising his insides and churning in his gut.

"You okay?" Nick asked quietly.

Kelly shook his head.

Nick didn't answer, just squeezed gently, his thumb brushing Kelly's hairline.

Kelly stole a glance at Ty and Owen, who stood several yards away, looking at the old barn that sat behind the house. They appeared deep in conversation. He looked back at the house. "I want to blow up the house."

"All right," Nick agreed in an even voice.

Kelly smiled weakly. Leave it to Nick to be the calm one in this situation and easily agree to blow up a house in order to keep Kelly sane. As bizarre as it was, the romance of it warmed his insides. He felt like he was barely staying together, like his skin was stretched too tight over his bones, his rage and fear trying to slice through and escape. A shudder rolled over his body and he clenched his fists.

"Hey." Nick tugged him to the other side of the tree and pushed him against it before Kelly could protest. The bark scraped against the back of Kelly's neck and his arms, the rough pattern pressing through the layers of his shirts. Nick's hard body pressed against his front, warm from the sun and fluid and loose like he always was before a mission.

Green eyes searched his, growing brighter and sharper as Nick pushed Kelly's dark-lensed spectacles into his hair. His lips curled up in a smile. "Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?"

Kelly swallowed and shook his head, unable to trust his voice. Speaking might give way to anger or fear and he didn't want to pummel Nick with either. Not when Nick pressing against him was the only thing keeping him from flying apart right now.

Nick kissed Kelly slowly, gently. "I fucking love your eyes, Kels."

"Even though they're broken?" he muttered.

Nick ran his nose from Kelly's jaw to his cheekbone. "They're not broken. How many times have you saved our asses because of these eyes? Because you could see what none of us had a chance in hell of seeing?"

Okay, he had a point there.

Nick pulled away and met Kelly's overly-bright gaze. "I won't even pretend I know what you're feeling right now, but if blowing up that house helps, then we'll blow up the damn house."

"What if I want to kill everyone inside?" Kelly asked quietly.

The side of Nick's mouth ticked up and his eyes caught a patch of sunlight, making them glitter a bright green. "Then I'll make sure no one tries to kill you back."

Despite the nerves and the anger and fear racing through his system, Kelly managed a weak smile. He started to look at the house again but Nick grabbed his chin and held him in place as he kissed him, hard and consuming. A groan worked its way out of Kelly's throat as he clutched at Nick's shirt and tugged him impossibly closer.

"You're a badass pirate," Nick said against Kelly's lips. "You're my monkey, and I love you. And nothing inside that fucking house changes that. Got it?"

The gravel and unyielding command in Nick's voice sent shivers racing down Kelly's spine. He nipped Nick's lower lip. "Got it."

Nick grinned and kissed him again. "Want to go blow some shit up?"

"Sounds good." Kelly rolled his neck, cracking out some of the tension as Nick released him and stepped back, his expression open and easy but with a faint hint of worry still lurking in his eyes. Kelly managed to put on a confident expression that he barely felt. His insides buzzed with anticipation, the tension building in his joints again. The terrified ten-year-old who used to live here peeked out from his memories, wide-eyed and shaking. He squared his shoulders and moved out from behind the tree with Nick behind him.

Ty and Owen were looking back at them, Ty's face laced with concern. "You good?"

Kelly nodded. "Yeah."

Owen looked back at the barn. "There's definitely some sort of power source under the barn."

"That's where the main lift was when they took me down the first time."

"First time?" Nick asked.

Kelly licked his lips. "First time was to show us around and make it look like we were going to be living in luxury and helping humanity. They showed us videos and fed us lunch. Then took us back up to the house to play. The second time, they took us down it was a lift from the house."

"Two entrances," Ty said as he frowned at the property.

"How many of you were there?" Owen asked.

Kelly shrugged. "At first, just me and another kid. Logan." His voice failed on the last word and he had to clear his throat. "More came and went. I didn't really interact with them much since I couldn't see in well-lit rooms." He cleared his throat again.

"So they kept the more advanced subjects separate from the others," Owen said.

"What are you getting at?" Nick asked.

Owen shook his head. "Just trying to get a sense of what to expect down there."

Ty looked at Kelly. "Still getting any kids out of here?"

Kelly nodded. "Ready?"

Ty grinned and saluted Kelly with two clockwork fingers to the brim of his hat before sliding back into the trees and making his way to the main road. Kelly waited until he saw Ty approach the main gate leading to the front of the house before he led Nick and Owen through the trees to the crest of the hill overlooking the rear of the barn. Owen went very still and his good eye stared at nothing in particular as he listened.

Nick's fingers brushed the small of Kelly's back, and Kelly leaned into the gesture. The silent support went a long way to easing Kelly's nerves. He'd come up with the plan to infiltrate the labs and, thankfully, no one had really questioned it other than to ask clarification on certain points. As much as Kelly hated being here again, he hadn't been lying when he said he _needed_ to be here to see the labs destroyed. He knew Nick was worried. Hell, he knew the whole crew was worried. He hadn't been himself since his birthday when the migraines started in force, and the nightmares started to make sleeping really fucking difficult. He rubbed his temple as a familiar twinge pinged just under the skin and pressed on the side of his eye.

"Ty's inside and talking to someone who seems really polite," Owen said suddenly. "I don't hear anyone else in the house."

"Guy or chick?" Kelly asked.

"Female. Older. Sounds like she smokes a lot."

Kelly nodded but didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say about The Matron. That's all he knew her as—Matron. She dressed in old Victorian-era dresses, insisted on proper manners, and doled out punishments she deemed appropriate. He'd kept to himself and never talked so he stayed off her radar other than her making random comments about him being "funny in the head" which was fine with him.

He readjusted his spectacles over his eyes, washing the world in a dark gray cast along with the purple and white outlines of his permanent vision. He waited a beat then set off down the hill toward the barn, keeping as low as he could in the tall grass. Rustling behind him was the only clue he had that the other two followed. He paused at the back door and pulled out his lock picks before his nerves could get the better of him. The lock was old-fashioned and manual from the days before computers ruled every doorway. He made quick work of it and eased it open, cringing when the hinges squealed faintly. They slipped inside and closed the door behind them.

"Holy shit," Nick breathed as he stared at the interior of the barn.

Which wasn't actually a barn in the strictest sense of the word. Well, perhaps it used to be long before disease and war decimated the vast majority of livestock population and clockworks took their place.

"Oh, Ty's going to hate those," Owen said.

Six tarnished brass and wood stalls lined one side of the barn, each occupied with a clockwork horse. Their eyes gleamed yellow and steam puffed from their nostrils as they registered visitors. Delicate whirring sounds filled the barn as they moved to sling their heads over their stall doors to get a better look. An ancient millstone sat in the middle of the room, the grinding stones still bearing their hand-tooled grooves for reducing grain to dust. The central shaft was as wide as two men and lined in metal which had dulled over time. Chains strung over gears, forming an elaborate pulley system that stretched into the cobwebbed rafters. Slices of sunlight pierced the gaps in the worn boards of the barn walls, providing spotlights for dancing dust motes.

"Wow," Nick said. "How old is that thing?"

Kelly shrugged as he walked over to the millstone. "No clue. It's not real." He squatted down under the monstrous device, running his fingers along the edge until he felt a switch. They all heard a faint clunk then the stone activated, grinding filling the air as the machine shuddered and rotated. All that was missing was buckets of grain or corn.

"That looks pretty fucking real to me," Nick said as Kelly backed up until his shoulder knocked Nick's arm. He'd never admit it out loud but physical touch was helping Kelly stay focused.

"Wait for it," Kelly said slowly.

The machine rotated and the central shaft spun. A seam split along the middle of the entire machine, the bottom millstone opening up and collapsing in on itself. Another shudder and the machine stopped, its entire middle open and glowing a faint blue.

Kelly gestured to the device. "Your ride, gentlemen."

"That's the lift?" Owen asked.

Kelly nodded. "Pretty decent camouflage." He fidgeted with the cuff on his wrist as he headed into the elevator. "Owen, you keep an ear on Ty up here?"

Owen glanced up at the pulley system and nodded. "I'll hide up there. You two going to be okay on your own down there?"

Nick grinned as he headed toward the elevator. "Don't ask stupid questions, Johns."

Kelly mustered a smile at Owen before he slipped into the lift with Nick. He located a line of brass buttons to the left of the door, deliberated for a moment, then hit the lowest one. The button depressed with a _thunk_ and the machine shuddered into motion again, sealing them inside before the lift started to slowly descend.

"How long will this take?" Nick asked as he ran his fingers over the smooth silver-colored walls.

Kelly shrugged and fidgeted with his wrist cuff. "A few minutes. I remember the ride taking a long time."

"Good," Nick growled before he crowded Kelly against the wall of the lift. The metal was cool on his back and curved in such a way that he felt completely penned in with Nick's body covering his front. Heat streaked through his system, shoving aside anxiety and popping off every nerve in his body. Kelly grinned up at Nick, tipping his head to the side so Nick could bury his face in the soft skin of Kelly's neck. This wasn't soft and gentle. This was a hard grip on his hips and rough teeth against his skin and an unapologetic assault down his throat to the juncture of his shoulder and _exactly_ the distraction Kelly needed. Kelly figured some part of him should care that Nick was using sex and physical contact to keep Kelly loose and focused, but he honestly didn't give a shit. Not when Nick's mouth was all over his skin and Nick's scent filled his entire world.

Kelly's moan echoed off the walls as his hands slid over Nick's shoulders, clawing and clutching at his shirt. Nick's hand slid behind Kelly's neck and he squeezed as he ground their hips together, raising his head and finding Kelly's lips. Kelly groaned into Nick's mouth. "Nick…" The pleading tone escaped his mouth but he didn't know what he was even asking for.

"When we're back on the boat," Nick kissed down Kelly's jaw and bit at his ear, "I'm going to lock us in our cabin for twenty-four hours and fuck you on every piece of furniture we own. Twice."

"You are a goddamn tease," Kelly groaned. He nipped the underside of Nick's jaw. "I love you."

Nick hummed as he ran his nose across Kelly's cheek and dropped a kiss on the scar there. "Let's get this bullshit done so I can fuck you into next week."

Kelly shivered, the grin spreading his face so wide, it hurt his cheeks. He sought out Nick's lips for another hard kiss, dragging his teeth across Nick's lower lip. "I'm holding you to that."

The lift shuddered and jerked to a stop. Nick pushed off the wall, pulling a pistol from his thigh holster. He winked at Kelly as the doors slowly retracted.


	9. Hoist the Colors High

_Switzerland_

Zane hissed as the needle stabbed through the torn skin on his bicep. Elias grimaced. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. Thanks for doing this." Zane glanced down at the gash across his arm from the bullet graze. It was deep enough to require a few stitches, but wasn't so deep that he couldn't use his arm. Thankfully the entire crew was trained in basic triage for times like this when Kelly was off-boat doing something else.

_Kelly._

Fuck, he needed to warn Kelly that they were walking into a trap. Nerves flew through his system at supersonic speeds, making him dizzy. If anything happened to Ty…

Zane's leg bounced as Deuce poked his head in the infirmary. "Anything?"

Deuce shook his head. "I've been trying to raise Owen but I can't reach him for some reason. Either he had to turn shit off to avoid detection or they're shielded somehow."

"How long until we're there?" Zane asked.

"With the wind, we'll be there in about two hours. I've pulled as much power out of the engines as I can without burning them out." Deuce leaned against the doorway and folded his arms. "How are you?"

"Sore, but I'll make it." Zane hopped off the table as soon as Elias was done, pulling his coat back on as he left the infirmary. He still hadn't changed clothes from the ball and was walking around his ship in full dress regalia.

"Here." Deuce handed him a mask.

"Where'd you get this?" Zane accepted it gratefully and pressed it to his face. The cool air flowing in through the vents assuaged the burning ache in his chest. The need to cough until one of his lungs came out of his throat eased slightly.

"Found it in your box of fancy shit you produced out of your ass." Deuce fell into step beside him. "Where'd you get all that anyway?"

"I know people," Zane answered as he headed toward the rear of the ship where his and Ty's quarters were.

Deuce hummed but didn't press the issue. Zane's ties to nobility were still a sore subject - not so much with the crew as with Zane himself. He hated the associations to his past. He hated that he'd been outed to his men. He hated that royal blood ran through his veins. It made him feel distanced from everyone, like there was this invisible wall built around him at all times keeping him at arm's length from the rest of his crew.

From Ty.

He pushed the door open into his quarters, waving Deuce in so they could keep talking as Zane changed into more comfortable clothes. The stench of rot clung to the expensive fabric, making his gut roll every time he got a whiff. "Explain how those things worked."

Deuce leaned against the wall next to the door, his brow furrowed. "Well, if the important innards were tech and clockwork then that's how. Chips in the brain for communication and control, wiring to the limbs and fingers, the ability to process external stimuli and react accordingly."

Zane frowned as he threw the ruined clothing into a corner and dug a clean pair of pants and a shirt out of the wardrobe against the wall. "But why the zombie meat suits?"

Deuce shrugged. "Maybe whoever built them didn't have access to synthetic skin. Dead bodies are easier to get with how popular grave robbing is."

Zane pulled a shirt over his head, wincing as the ache in his back and neck throbbed with the movement. "Yeah, but grave robbers usually hit fresh graves so they can sell organs. These were already well past their sell-by date."

Deuce chuckled, the sound a little mechanical. "True. I don't know, captain, shock value? The real question is, how many of them are there?"

Zane pulled his dragon stitched frock coat on and bent to retrieve his boots from partly under the massive bed Ty insisted they build. "There were at least twenty at the ball."

Deuce nodded. "That's a lot of graves to rob."

"Maybe more than that," Zane commented. He shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed a brace of pistols on a leather belt on the way out of the room. "We should see if there have been any mass grave robberies recently. Those bodies were barely holding it together which means they were relatively fresh graves." Zane buckled the belt around his hips as they wound through the ship toward navigation.

"Harvest the organs for the black market then turn the remains into a clockwork puppet," Deuce said. He wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

Zane's gaze narrowed at the navigational array along the front wall as if he could glare at the ship to make it go faster. "See what you can find out."

"Will do." Deuce took the dismissal for what it was and vanished, leaving behind a very weighty silence marked only by the steady thrum of engines below Zane's feet.

Zane sat at the small table and frowned at the map. The red circle over the western shores of Britannia mocked him. They were so far away and the others might already be in serious trouble. The fact that Deuce couldn't raise Owen on their network sent jolts of fear through his chest. It wasn't that Ty and the others weren't capable. It was that the Baron was a slippery motherfucker.

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, trying to figure out why goddamn clockwork zombies attacked the ball before the summit. Why not the summit itself? Why attack a bunch of random nobility at a fancy party? He paused at that thought, turning the mental picture of the ball over and over in his head. The two that bumped him. The girl that cornered him. The fact that the Baron knew they'd be there. The three that attacked him. He stared out the window while he turned it over and over in his mind. The clouds ambled past, their curved tops parting as the ship shouldered through them. Sunlight streaked across the fluffy sky, painting the world in orange, red, and white. It was breathtaking and gorgeous.

But all Zane saw was the too-slow progress.

The comm crackled to life. "Captain! Enemy off the port bow!"

Zane lurched out of his chair and peered out the window. "Colors?"

"Bounty ship, sir!" Ash ran to the ladder leading to the navigation roof, where one of the larger guns sat.

Zane growled his frustration. Nothing more than a merc ship trying to cash in on the bounty over Sidewinder. He did _not_ have time for this bullshit right now. "Stay on course to Britannia! I want that ship off our port. I don't care if you have to sink him."

"Aye aye, Captain," filtered through the comm as Deuce, Digger, Ash, and Elias proceeded to engage an enemy vessel with nearly half their crew missing. Shots rang out from the mounted guns on Sidewinder's bow. Answering shots rang out from the fast-approaching vessel. Zane pushed out of navigation and ran the length of the deck to the hatch leading down to the armament. It was open, Digger's rumbling curses drifting out of the depths.

Zane descended, taking the narrow wooden stairs two at a time and headed the length of the level to the bow, where Digger was loading a twin set of cannons that rotated multiple barrels like a giant Gatling gun. "How are these?"

"About loaded." Digger handed Zane a pair of ear protectors.

Zane slid the padded leather over his ears, all sound turning to muffled booms that he felt more than heard. He gave Digger a thumbs up and stepped up to the cannon closest to him. Digger mimed a five-count and they both activated the guns, staying to the sides as the kickback with each successive blast jerked the heavy cannons against their restraints. Zane peered out a viewing hole and spotted the smaller ship. It was a single mast with fanned sails in a deep orange color. He frowned, recognizing the design but unable to place it at the moment. His frown turned to a grin as several of the Gatling shots punched her nose, shattering the masthead and taking a good chunk out of her belly. She dipped but didn't quite fall, her own cannons firing in response as she turned broadside to Sidewinder.

Sidewinder shuddered and lurched as several answering cannon blasts hit the port side of the ship under their feet. Zane groaned. Nick would raise hell if his shop was damaged in any way. He pushed away from the wall and headed back to the hatch, discarding the ear protectors as he ran. He climbed, pulling both pistols from the belt riding low on his hips.

Fucking mercs were not going to board his ship.

He hit a comm box at the top of the hatch. "Visitors, boys!" His voice hardened. "Dead men tell no tales, gentlemen."

Part of the reason Sidewinder stayed a ghost ship is that they very rarely left survivors, and, right now, Zane wasn't in the mood for assholes who interrupted him on his way to rescue the man he loved or the rest of his crew. Fuckers were delaying his mission and that pushed him from mildly irritated to full-on pissed.

Affirmative sounds filtered through the comms and the guns sped up again, this time aimed at the main deck of the approaching ship. Zane stepped out from the hatch and sought cover behind the reinforced railing of the ship. Bullets flew sporadically over his head as the other crew grew close enough to fire with handguns and rifles. He fired a few blind shots to cause anyone aiming at him to scatter before popping up and firing at the closest mercs he saw. He nailed one in the shoulder and another in the face. He managed to clip a third on the neck before he had to duck again.

Ty was going to be mad he missed this. Zane smiled at the thought.

He heard a whoop from the navigation deck and looked up to see a maniacal grin on Ash's face as he fired onto the main deck. Zane followed the tracer rounds and watched them mow across the main sail in a zig-zag pattern and focus on the mast, weakening the support. The mast gave a great cracking sound and whined as it started to list.

Zane stood and fired even as the attacking vessel peeled away from their ship slowly. Sidewinder shuddered as Digger revved up the Gatling cannons again, punching gaping wounds in the side of the ship. Alarms blared into the evening sky as a fire spilled from her belly, dripping smoldering innards onto the clouds below. Zane leveled his pistol at a merc and smiled as he squeezed the trigger, catching the man in the chest. The man fired back but missed by a few feet, the shot embedding itself in the wall behind Zane.

Cheers broke out around Sidewinder as the attacking ship, boiling from the inside out, cracked and groaned, her remaining crew's screams lost in the dying cries of their airship. The beast sank into the rolling crowds, drowning in fire and gravity.

Zane spun away from the railing as the clouds swallowed the wreckage, holstering his pistols. "Get us the fuck to Britannia!" he yelled to no one in particular right before he punched the nearest wall, barely registering the broken skin and blood across his knuckles.


	10. A Curse of Shadows

_Britannia_

The lift doors retracted smoothly, revealing a darkened hallway. Nick arched an eyebrow and glanced back at Kelly, who was still leaning against the wall, looking appropriately mussed. Eyes bright. A darkening mark on his neck that made Nick's blood run hot. "You coming?"

Kelly straightened, pulling a small knife from a sheath on his thigh, and nodded. "Another thirty seconds against that wall with you, hell yes."

Nick laughed and stepped out of the lift. "Who's the tease now?"

"Love me or leave me," Kelly sing-songed as he followed and looked around. A line appeared between his brows, the light from the lift glinting off the ring in the left one.

"Recognize it?"

Kelly licked his lips, pulling the lower one in his mouth as he looked both ways. "Yeah. This way." His voice quieted a little, his shoulders taking on a rigid set. Everything Nick had done moments before to distract him vanished in a single breath as Kelly started walking down the hallway of his nightmares.

"Why is it so dark?" Nick asked, glancing at the dim amber lamps that lined the walls every few yards or so. They cast pools of yellowed light, dimly outlining their surroundings. He could hardly make out Kelly in front of him.

Kelly reached back and laced the fingers of his free hand in Nick's. "This is where they did Stage Two."

Nick nodded. That made sense. Keep it dim for the kids who could see bright as daylight down here. Anything brighter caused them pain and, as they'd found out a year ago at the hands of the Baron, permanent damage. He squeezed Kelly's hand as his other hand flexed on the grip of his gun. A creeping sensation ran down the back of his neck, setting the hairs on end. He suppressed a shiver as they headed further away from the lift. "You know how to get back?"

Kelly squeezed Nick's hand in response and hummed an affirmative.

They headed down the darkened hallway, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls. Nick frowned as they walked. "How big is this place?"

"It's actually not that big. There just aren't any windows and they built it like a maze," Kelly explained quietly. "We tried to get out a few times before I actually managed it."

Nick stayed quiet, knowing that if Kelly wanted to tell him the whole story, he would in his own way and in his own time. This was Kelly's past, his world, his nightmares.

"There were a few of us in the end," Kelly said as they turned a corner. "When I was first brought down, it was me and this other kid, Logan. Then, a couple months later, more showed up. I knew they were in my program because they'd all have weird eyes. Different colors. Heterochromia. Glasz. That was really the only criteria, I think. Something about the genes that made our eyes like that naturally made us more receptive to the drops." He shrugged as they reached a T-junction. He looked both ways before heading to the left. "They figured out that Logan and I were friends and used it against us pretty much immediately. They, ah, threatened Logan when I didn't obey. Logan stopped talking to me after that—screamed at me in front of the doctors that he hated me. After that, they started drugging me and tying me down. There was this other kid who took care of me." He was quiet for a long moment then cleared his throat and continued in a shakier voice. "When I finally got out, there were only a few left here. I don't…I don't know what happened to them."

Nick pressed his lips together. If everything Deuce had told him a while back were true, anyone Kelly left behind here was probably dead if they'd been moved into Stage Three.

Kelly stopped walking, his body going completely still. Nick froze, his grip on his gun tightening. Dammit, he hated that he couldn't see down here. He knew he could rely on Kelly to keep him safe but the disadvantage grated on him.

After a long moment, Kelly started walking again, his fingers tight in Nick's.

"What was it?"

"I thought I saw something." Kelly blew out a breath. "It was nothing."

Nick swallowed back the building nerves. "You have a headache?"

"Yeah," Kelly answered quietly. He stopped under a lamp, frowning at a door with a large S2 painted on it in red.

Nick took advantage of the light to look around even though he couldn't see much outside the pool of amber. "Where is everyone?"

"Other than the drops or tests, we hardly saw any adults. Sometimes we'd go days without seeing anyone." Kelly continued to stare at the door, his eyes bright in the darkness.

"Food?" Nick asked carefully.

Kelly gave a weak smile. "Sometimes."

Nick looked at the ceiling so he could school his features and quell the rising anger at how Kelly was treated. In all truth, he wanted to stalk through the hallways and execute anyone wearing a lab coat. Kelly's tightening fingers made him look back down. Kelly smiled sadly at him as if he could hear what Nick was thinking. He looked back at the door. "If there are kids in there, we need to get them back to the lift. Do you remember the way back?"

Nick nodded. He released Kelly's fingers and glanced at the computer pad next to the door. "Computer lock?"

Kelly grinned at him and produced two clockwork spiders. "Thought these would come in handy."

Nick laughed as he took the spiders and attached them to the lock. He twisted their heads to activate the timers then grabbed Kelly's arm and yanked him back down the hall and around a corner.

The blast roared through the enclosed hallway, the echoes making it sound like a far larger explosion than it really was. Nick heard shrieks as the blast died down. Kelly bolted back around the corner, racing for the blown-out keypad and damaged door. He wrenched the door open, his hand up, fingers splayed. "I'm not a doctor. No drops. No needles."

"Who the hell are you?" came a small voice trying to sound far braver than it was.

"I'm one of you." Kelly stepped into the room, his eyes bright and glowing in the darkness. "I'm here to take you away from here."

Nick positioned himself in the doorway where he could keep half an eye on the hallway. No guards was weird. Too weird. These kids were valuable property even if they were hidden deep underground and way out in the country. He relied more on his hearing and other senses to help since he couldn't see jack shit outside the circle of lamplight. He listened to Kelly talking quietly with, what sounded like, a handful of kids in the dark room. Fuck, to live so long in a dark space so your eyes adjusted to this. No wonder Kelly cried out in pain at bright sunlight and insisted on heavy curtains on their cabin windows.

"Nick?"

"Right here." Nick glanced toward Kelly's voice.

"There's five of them."

"Coast is clear for the moment." Nick smiled down at little faces as they appeared in the dim light, blinking unnaturally bright eyes. None of them were as white or brilliant as Kelly's but he could tell all of them were well into the testing. "Hey."

"Are you a pirate like Kelly?" one kid asked.

"Are you Kelly's boyfriend?" another kid piped up.

"Why are your eyes dark?" a third chirped.

"Yes. Yes. And because I'm not nearly cool enough to get kickass eyes like you guys have." Nick met Kelly's gaze over their heads. Kelly smiled encouragingly at him. They both knew Nick wasn't overly fond of kids, but he knew these kids had been through hell. The least he could do was play nice.

"Do you kiss him?" a fourth asked in a shy voice.

Nick chuckled. "A lot."

A chorus of "ew" answered him. Nick laughed quietly. "Do you guys want to ride in a lift? Get the hell out of here?"

"Is it Matron's lift?"

Kelly shook his head. "No, it's to the horses. You guys want to see the horses?"

An enthusiastic "yeah" echoed down the hall. Nick grimaced and looked around, really unsettled that no one had arrived yet to investigate. "We should get going."

Kelly nodded in agreement, cast one last look around the dark room—seeing who the hell knew what—and gestured to the hall. "Okay, let's go, kids."

The kids hesitated, fear on their little faces and in their bright eyes. Nick squatted down in front of a little girl who looked maybe about nine years old. "Hey, darlin', what's your name?"

"Jessie."

"Hey, Jessie, I'm Nick. I need your help with something."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Okay."

"I can't see as well as the rest of you so I was wondering if you'd help me make sure I don't run into any walls."

A few shy giggles came at that statement.

Nick smiled at her. "Can you help lead me around so we can get out there?"

Jessie grinned, showing a gap in her front teeth, and nodded, her enhanced eyes bright green with splashes of gold around the pupil. She stepped forward and took his hand in hers, her little grip strong. Nick straightened and caught Kelly's eye. Kelly smiled softly and nodded. "Okay, kids, follow me."

Nick waited for them to file out behind Kelly before taking up the rear, his hand still in Jessie's. He hadn't been lying about needing help, but he also knew it helped bolster their courage to be needed.

The group wound their way back down the halls to the lift. By the time they reached the doors, Nick's anxiety was peaking. This was way too fucking easy. Every shadow made him twitchy, every sound other than them made the hairs on his arms stand up.

Kelly opened the lift and got the kids inside. He turned to Nick. "You go up with them. I'll start planting charges." He patted his overloaded cargo pockets.

Nick nodded. "Right. Be fucking careful."

Kelly rolled up on his tip-toes and kissed Nick quickly. "Hurry the hell up."

"Ew," Jessie said as she let go of Nick's hand and headed into the lift.

Kelly patted Nick's belly. "Get them up to Owen and Ty, then come back down here."

Nick tilted his head at his lover. It wasn't that he was worried for Kelly's safety. Kelly was more than capable of handling himself alone. "Headache?"

"I'm fine. Go." He took a step back and grinned, wide and reassuring, his white-blue eyes glowing spectacularly in the darkness.

Nick headed into the lift and smacked the top button, not taking his eyes off Kelly as the doors slid shut and the lift jerked into motion.

===

Kelly waited for the lift doors to slide shut before he spun in a circle with a loud sigh. "I know you're watching," he said loudly, not bothering to hide now that Nick and the kids were on their way to safety. "I don't know what your fucking game is but I'm alone now. So come out."

The prickles he'd felt since setting foot down here still caressed his spine as he looked both ways down the corridor. The hall washed white and purple to him, with bits of thin black lines and gray patches that were nearly shadows. He went still, listening for movement or breathing. Nick's hearing was far better than Kelly's, but he hadn't wanted to alarm the other man. His first priority was getting the kids out, no matter how laughably easy that'd been.

Which was on purpose. He knew that much.

What he didn't know is why they were letting the kids get out this far.

He set off down the corridor in the opposite direction from where they'd come, bypassing several numbered doors before he reached the one he was looking for. Might as well get the job done since his shadow wasn't coming out to say hi any time soon. He frowned at the key pad, hating to use another spider but not wanting to waste any more time. He set it then jogged further down the hallway, taking a left and peering around while he waited for the boom.

Which never came.

"One was bound to be a dud," he muttered to a stain on the wall. He waited another thirty count then crept back around the corner, eying the door carefully where the bright yellow clockwork spider perched on top of the nine-digit key pad. Could they even be deactivated? He realized he'd never asked Nick that and just knowing that they'd failed to discuss such a vital detail made him laugh.

_Grab it, throw it, and hope it's far away if it does explode._

He'd taken two steps when the spider exploded, sending a whoosh of heat, metal, and concrete down the hallway in both directions. Kelly dropped to the floor, covering his head, but it wasn't fast enough. Pain and heat licked up his back and something slammed into his head hard enough to make the world pitch violently. Pain rolled around his body, and he blinked to clear his swimming vision. His ears filled with whining that seemed to increase in volume the more he moved.

Kelly picked his head up and caught a dark form out of the corner of his eye. He blinked rapidly and focused on the end of the corridor where a young man stood, passively watching. The man had messy, wavy dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. Crystalline almost.

He frowned, his memories cycling through the haze and the smoke and the pain. His head pounded and he knew he was going to pass out at any second.

Right as darkness crept in the corners of his vision, he gasped. "Cameron?"


	11. He Does All The Talking

_Britannia: Nineteen years ago_

"You're the kid who don't talk, right?"

Kelly looked up in spite of the instincts to keep playing with his cars as if he hadn't heard. But the voice wasn't mean or even sad. Just curious. And that made Kelly curious. The little boy who stood just outside of the moonlit dirt patch was skinny, like Kelly, and pale, like Kelly, and had shaggy hair, like Kelly. The only thing different was his eyes. Where the drops had turned Kelly's eyes a swirling mixture of blue and green, this kid's eyes were bright blue. For a second, Kelly wondered if he was clockwork.

The kid fidgeted with the hem of his too-big t-shirt. "I'm Cameron. Can I hang out with you?"

Kelly shrugged a shoulder and scooted over a little to make room under the big oak tree. Cameron folded down to a sit, hugging bony knees to his chest. He stared at the cars with his too-bright eyes. "Are these yours?"

Kelly shook his head and picked up a red truck. He handed it to Cameron, who took it with skinny fingers and a shaky grip. Kelly frowned and bit his lip.

"Why don't you talk?" Cameron whispered.

Kelly glanced at him with a tiny smile. Cameron blinked those too-bright eyes and then a grin curled the corners of his lips. "I get it."

They played in silence for another few minutes, soaking in the fresh air of their one hour outdoors during the night when they could actually see.

"What's your name?" Cameron whispered again.

Kelly hesitated for a second. "Kelly," he whispered back.

Cameron smiled at the dirt as he drove his truck in a wide loop around Kelly's convertible. "I won't tell anyone."

==

_Four Months Later_

Kelly kept his burning eyes tightly closed and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Hold still," Cameron's voice was quiet and tight.

Cold water splashed over Kelly's abused wrists and he hissed in pain.

"Sorry," Cameron mumbled. "You know if you didn't struggle and try to bite them when they put the drops in, they wouldn't chain you down."

Kelly didn't answer. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on the bony caps. His eyes felt like shattered glass orbs and the pieces were trying to burrow back into his brain. This time had been worse. More drops. More burning. More whispering he couldn't make out.

Fabric tore and, a moment later, cloth wound around one wrist. Then the other. Kelly trembled as the pain pushed through his skull and down the back of his neck.

"It's dark in here. Let me see your eyes," Cameron said quietly.

Kelly shook his head and groaned softly. Gods above, it hurt. He hunched over, wincing when the bumps of his spine scraped against the cold stone wall behind him.

Cameron's hand moved up Kelly's arm to his shoulder then around his shoulders and tugged gently. Kelly followed the movement and laid down, his head hitting something warm and soft, which he realized was Cameron's thigh. He shuddered as pain from his wrists crawled up his arms and joined the pain in his neck and started creeping down his spine. His stomach lurched and he pulled his knees up to his chest with a faint whimper.

"Sick?" Cameron asked.

Kelly nodded. This was normal. Pain, then sick, then tired, then more pain, then really tired. It always took so long to get through the after effects. It may have only been a few hours or a day but they had no way to tell time down here in the darkness.

"We need to get out of here," Cameron whispered. His fingers pushed through Kelly's shaggy hair in gentle circles.

Another shudder rolled down Kelly's body, pushing the pain down his spine and into his hips.

"You seen that kid you came here with?"

Kelly shook his head and tried to curl up tighter. He didn't want to talk about Logan or the fact that the last time he saw Logan, a gun was pressed to the boy's head in an effort to get Kelly out from behind some cabinets. Logan was mad at Kelly for that. Blamed Kelly for the fear and the pain. Logan wouldn't talk to Kelly anymore.

"They want to put me in Stage Three," Cameron said. "I don't know anyone who made it through."

Stage Three induced fear and uncertainty in everyone who heard it. No one knew what it was or what happened but anyone who went in disappeared forever. Kelly didn't want Cameron to disappear forever. Cameron was his only friend. The only one who knew Kelly could talk. The only one who took care of Kelly after the drops. And Kelly was the only one who took care of Cameron. Who would take care of Cameron if he went into Stage Three alone?

"Maybe we could go together," Kelly whispered, his voice scratchy.

"They'll put you in without me," Cameron said. Kelly could tell he was smiling. "Your eyes are brighter than mine."

"Brighter don't mean better," Kelly countered. He coughed a few times, which sent shockwaves of pain through his chest.

"Sure it does. I bet they're even brighter now."

Kelly rolled to his back slowly. He took a deep breath and slowly cracked his eyes open. "No, I can't. It hurts."

"Hang on, two seconds. Lemme make sure nothing's bleeding." Cameron's fingers traced under Kelly's eyes. The world washed white and purple and blue and silver, images going in and out of focus as his eyes tried to see through the medication.

"You're good."

Kelly pressed his eyes shut with a sigh of relief. "What color?"

"Green today," Cameron answered. "With a little blue on the edges. There's some white by the middle now, though."

White was new. "You think they'll go all white?"

"That'd be cool. You'd look really creepy. Maybe you'll shoot lasers."

Kelly giggled, which hurt, but it felt good to laugh.

==

_Three Months Later_

Kelly growled and ran at the doctor, head down like he'd been shown, and drove his shoulder into the man's hip with enough force to make him drop Cameron. Cameron yelped when he hit the floor and curled up in a ball, blood trickling from a cut on his temple, eyes squeezed shut against the brightness of the room.

Kelly planted himself in front of Cameron, readjusted his dark glasses, and held up tiny fists with knuckles that stuck out of his pale skin. He knew he was little, but no one hurt Cameron if Kelly had anything to say about it.

The doctor gained his footing and came at Kelly with his hand raised, swiping down toward Kelly's head. Kelly ducked and drove his fist into the doctor's stomach then kicked his knee. The doctor howled in pain and stumbled back. "Security to Room Twelve!"

Kelly crouched next to Cameron, breathing hard with anxiety and adrenaline. He pushed Cameron's hair back from his face.

Cameron smiled weakly. "You're gonna get in trouble."

Kelly patted him on the shoulder as the door opened and three security guards came in, guns drawn. Kelly didn't know if they had real bullets or tranquilizers, but he didn't care. He stood and folded his arms, trying to look as large and imposing as he could. He bared his teeth and growled at the one in the middle.

"Cute, kid. Cut it out and no one gets hurt."

Kelly didn't move. He heard a quiet puff and felt a sharp sting in his arm.

Tranquilizers.

==

_Four Months Later_

It'd been two weeks since they took Logan away. It'd been a week since they took Cameron away. Stage Three. And Kelly was left behind.

"Oh you'll be going, too, just not yet," they had said.

Kelly shuddered and looked at the ceiling. The chains hung on his wrists, rubbing the still-open cuts from last time. He and Cameron had discussed this moment for months. Then they took Cameron, and Kelly procrastinated for a week.

"If they take one of us before the other, then the other gets out and gets help. Bring back the police," Cameron had said.

Kelly blew out a breath and looked around the room. He'd been left alone while the drugs worked their way into his system to make him pliant enough for the drops. He didn't know why, but it took longer and longer each time for the drugs to work. He was going to use it to his advantage. He looked down at his bony arms and bony hands and started psyching himself up for what Cameron had shown him. His wrists were already bleeding so hopefully this wouldn't be too difficult.

He brought his hands together over his stomach, barely able to reach because of the chain length and grasped on hand in the other, closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and pushed. It took hardly any pressure since everything was so skinny, but his thumb popped out of joint with a loud grating noise and pain shot up Kelly's arm. He breathed through it, determined not to make a sound, and started working his hand out of the cuff. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes and the smell of his own blood and sweat stung his nose.

One hand free. One to go.

The second pop and second round of pain actually made tears trickle down his temples and into his hair, but he stayed quiet and managed to pull his hand through the cuff. He pushed his thumb back into place with a soft groan and waited for his head to stop swimming. He reached up to his neck and fumbled with the med-patch just behind his ear until he yanked it off. He didn't know how much of the drug was in his system already or how much time he had, but he needed to get out. He needed to find help. He needed to rescue Cameron.

Kelly rolled off the table, dropping to a wobbly crouch as the room spun. His hands slid across the floor a few inches, leaving red smears. His thumbs felt swollen and nearly useless at the joints. He pushed himself up, padding across the room on bare feet, and slipped out of the room.

He ran. He knew which direction the lift was, but he ran the opposite way. It was Cameron who'd come up with the idea after they'd seen a truck arrive one night during their outside time.

> _"They take the bodies somewhere. Somewhere the bodies are supposed to be," Cameron had whispered._
> 
> _"Because bodies aren't supposed to be on a farm," Kelly had whispered back._
> 
> _"We hide with the bodies. We escape with the bodies."_

Kelly escaped with the bodies. He escaped in a bag with Logan's body. And he tried getting help. He went to the authorities, who laughed at him and put him in an orphanage. He escaped and went to a new town. The authorities there didn't believe him either. One of them tried to sell him to a circus because of his eyes. He hitched rides to different towns, barely escaping orphanages or people actually looking for him. He taught himself how to steal. How to survive. How to use his fingers and his sight and his small size and speed to get what he needed.

Days turned to weeks.

Weeks turned to months.

Kelly lost hope.

What could a twelve-year-old boy do anyway? Cameron was probably dead by now.

With winter fast approaching, Kelly seriously considered turning himself into an orphanage just to stay warm and survive the cold. He'd pick some pockets and get some cash and then decide.

That was the day a boy with bright green eyes stopped his friend from kicking the shit out of Kelly when he got caught trying to lift their coin purses.

"What's your name?" the boy with freckles and a crooked smile asked as he kept a firm hold on his friend's arm.

"Kelly."

"I'm Nick. You hungry?"


	12. Now You See Me

The ground vibrated under Ty's feet as he eyed the row of clockwork horses with visible disdain. He'd always hated horses. Plus, losing his arm while riding one pretty much cemented the animosity as a to-the-grave level of hatred.

"Nick's gonna yell at you," Owen said as he came down out of the rafters where he'd been perched.

Ty sniffed and looked down at the hole blown out of the middle of his clockwork hand. "It's not my fault the lady of the house had a gun."

"No, but it's probably your fault she fired said gun." Owen reached for Ty's hand and peered at it. "Can you move your fingers?"

"Thumb, ring, and pinkie," Ty muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the horses again. "They're staring at me."

"Probably wondering how a metal jackass got into their barn," Owen said in a flat tone.

Ty smacked him upside the head with his human hand. "Fucker."

Owen snickered and backed away from another swipe. The millstone in the corner shuddered and started to open. Blue light poured out along the seam, widening and spilling onto the metal and dirt floor, revealing Nick and a collection of young kids. Ty's eyebrows went up. "You and Kelly adopting?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Shut up and help me, Grady."

The kids filed out, their bright eyes squinted against the dim interior of the barn. Ty reached into the oversized pockets of his duster and dug out the various goggles Kelly had insisted he bring. He tossed a few to Owen, who started helping the kids put them on. Nick headed over to Ty.

"What happened?" Nick frowned at Ty's hand.

"Lady with a gun."

Nick shook his head. "What is it with chicks wanting to kill you?" He pulled up a stray wire hanging out of the hole and wrapped it around one of Ty's dead fingers. "I'll fix it when we get back to the ship. Try not to use it too much."

Ty watched Owen affix goggles to kids. He pitched his voice lower. "She knew who I was."

Nick glanced at him, lines appearing between his brows in silent question.

"She wasn't surprised to see me, either."

Nick froze then nodded. "I gotta go back down and help Kelly finish setting charges. You and Owen get the kids out of here right now."

"There's only one skiff," Ty protested quietly, his heart lurching at the thought of leaving his best friend behind.

Nick grinned. "We're street rats. We know how to disappear when it counts."

"I don't know why you two are whispering," Owen said as he straightened. "I can hear you just fine."

"Why is your hand metal?" one of the kids piped up, pointing a pale finger at Ty's clockwork hand.

"I was in a gun fight," Ty said seriously. "Really big guy shot it off."

A chorus of tiny gasps. Nick groaned. Ty pointed at Owen. "Talk to that one. He's a robot."

"Dammit, Ty," Owen grumbled before plastering on a smile when all the kids turned to him.

Ty grinned at him cheekily before shoving Nick toward the lift. "Go get your monkey and then get the hell off this property. We'll come back and get you after the kids are safe."

"You taking them to Mara's?" Nick asked as his eyes swept over the group of kids.

"Yeah, she's got plenty of room and plenty of food."

"You just want pie," Nick said.

Ty pointed at him in agreement.

Nick clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll meet you there. Stay with the kids." He took one last look at the group and headed toward the lift. Just before entering, he looked back over his shoulder. "Be careful, Ty."

"Stay alive, O," Ty answered as Nick stepped into the lift and the millstone shuddered into motion again. He watched the doors shut with a clunk that sounded too final for his comfort.

"We gotta go," Owen said. "What did you do with the chick in the house?"

"Knocked her out. She'll be fine." Ty rolled his shoulders back. "We should be gone when she wakes up, though." He headed to the side door and opened it, scanning the surrounding area for anyone before he motioned to Owen and the kids.

They'd nearly reached the grove where the skiff was hidden when the explosion made the ground roll under their feet. Ty spun around, his stomach dropping at the plume of smoke billowing into the sky. Too soon. It was too soon for an explosion that massive.

"Ty!" Owen shouted.

Ty glanced at Owen, who drew his gun and pointed it past Ty's shoulder. Ty ducked as the gun fired. The kids screamed as Ty pushed himself up, pulling his guns as he stood. "What the fuck is that?"

What was left of an automaton lay on the grass, but it wasn't anything Ty had ever seen. Its skin peeled away from a skeleton that looked half bone, half metal. "Oh Christ, is that an actual human corpse?"

Owen shook his head. "Not waiting around to find out, captain." He herded the kids to the waiting skiff, lifting them over the railing and telling them to sit on the floorboards where they'd be safer.

Ty glared at the automaton, his gut flipping as he looked around at the now-silent trees. "Where did it come from?"

"Don't know, Ty," Owen said patiently. "Don't care."

Ty squinted at the billowing black smoke from the direction they'd come. He headed to the skiff. "Fly over the farm."

"And if they have guns?" Owen asked.

"Johns, I swear to all that's fucking holy I will use your wiring to power the fucking toilet if you don't stop arguing with me." Ty vaulted the railing and shoved Owen out of the way so he could start the skiff.

Owen smirked but didn't answer. His face grew serious as he looked at the smoke and down at the automaton. Ty gunned the engines and pulled back on the wheel, launching the small aircraft into the air. It wobbled a little with the extra weight in the back but Owen quickly rearranged the kids to help balance it better as they flew over the treetops.

"Oh fuck," Owen said quietly as they broke over the tree line.

The barn was gone. In its place was a pile of wood, twisted metal, blown apart stone, and fire. The house stood, untouched by the explosion. Ty looked at Owen. Owen frowned and looked from the house to the kids and back to the remains of the barn. He nodded to himself like he'd come to a decision and put both hands on the railing. "Get the kids to Mara's."

"Owen!" Ty yelled as Owen vaulted the railing and dropped a good hundred feet to the hard-packed earth. He landed with a thud and rolled forward with the momentum, coming up with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. He waved at Ty then set off at a jog to the house, presumably for the second lift. Ty wavered, torn between his crew's safety and the kids in his charge. Whimpering noises from the back of the skiff pulled his attention and he glanced over his shoulder at the tiny, huddled forms on the floorboards. With a growled curse, he gunned the engines and headed away from the farm.

===

Right as Nick exited the lift into the darkened hallway, a boom shook the world, throwing him against the far wall. Ceiling pieces rained down around his shoulders. "Kelly!" he called over the continued roaring and shaking. He stumbled down the hall, holding onto the pitching wall for balance. He heard a whoosh behind him and turned just as a blast of fire shot out of the lift shaft where he'd just been standing. "Christ," he breathed. "Kelly!"

The fire behind him lit the tunnel in an orange glow and he took off at a jog, dodging large chunks of ceiling and calling Kelly's name over and over. Still no answer and his heart crawled into his throat as he wound through the tunnels. Another far-off boom shook the earth, causing great cracks to split the concrete walls. Thank god Nick wasn't claustrophobic or he'd be having fits right now.

"Kelly!"

"Nick?" The voice called out from deeper in the tunnels.

Nick's relief swiftly turned to concern when he rounded the corner and saw Kelly on all fours next to a pile of rubble. Fire licked the sides of the doorway between them, illuminating the blood flowing down Kelly's face and dripping on the ground. "Kelly!" Nick cleared the pile of rubble and hit his knees next to Kelly, hands moving to grab him even though he wasn't sure how hurt his lover was.

"Stupid spider blew late. Thought it was a dud," Kelly gasped as he reached blindly out for Nick.

"That explosion wasn't all you, babe." Nick grabbed Kelly's bloody hand. "Where are you hurt?"

"Nothing's broke. Head hurts," Kelly slurred. He looked up at Nick and winced, squinting and blinking a lot.

Nick frowned. "How many of me do you see?"

"Um..." Kelly blew out a breath and squinted again.

"Fuck," Nick muttered. He pulled Kelly's arm around his shoulders and lifted them. Kelly groaned as they straightened, his weight sagging against Nick.

"Cameron," Kelly mumbled. "I saw Cameron."

Nick frowned. "Who?"

"Cameron's dead, but I saw Cameron."

Nick looked down the hall and saw nothing but crumbling cement and smoke. "Babe, there's no one there." He pushed down panic as the world shuddered again.

"I saw him," Kelly insisted, his voice slurring more. "I left him here."

_Have the hallucinations started yet?_

Nick pulled Kelly close. "We need to get you out of here."

Kelly gestured to the blown out door. "Need to get the research."

"Kels..."

Kelly smacked him on the chest but it was weak and left a bloody handprint. "I'm not coming back down here. Research."

Nick made a frustrated sound and pulled Kelly into the smoke-filled laboratory. "I can't see shit in here. And neither can you."

"I can. It's just fucking...fuzzy. Computer...there." Kelly lurched to their left and Nick helped him move to the far wall where a bank of computers sat. Kelly blew out a breath and patted his pockets. "Bleeding," he mumbled. Nick wasn't sure if Kelly was talking about something specific or in general. Worry nagged at him. He needed to get Kelly out of here and get medical attention.

"Kels, come on. We need to get you to a doctor."

"I am a doctor, babe." Kelly patted him again and leaned forward. The glow of a monitor blinked on, flickering as it tried to draw power from an unstable system. The next explosion sounded further away, but the ground still rumbled under their feet.

"What's causing the explosions?" Nick looked around.

"Fail safe system, I think. It didn't happen until mine went off." Kelly's voice was sounding a little more stable, but he looked garish in the glow of the computer. Blood streaked his face from a gash in his temple. His hands were covered in it, leaving bloody fingerprints all over the console he was using. The back of his neck was nothing but red, which sent a flare of panic through Nick.

"Hold still," Nick growled as he probed the back of Kelly's head. Kelly hissed and tried to pull away but Nick held him fast. "You've got a nasty cut back here. We're leaving."

"Almost have everything," Kelly swatted his hands away and leaned over the table, his eyes eerily bright as folders and files appeared on the screen.

Nick blew out a breath and started counting. When he reached twenty, he was going to take Kelly out of here regardless of whether or not the man was finished. Nick could carry him easily. He'd done it before. Granted, it'd been under much sexier circumstances.

"Got it!" Kelly crowed triumphantly and straightened. "Whoa..." he mumbled as he wavered and slumped against Nick. "Ground's moving."

"No, you probably have a concussion, idiot. Come on." Nick wrapped an arm around Kelly's waist and pulled him toward the door. Kelly stumbled along, trying to keep his own balance. They hit the hallway and Nick looked both ways. "The lift I came down is blown out. Where's the other way out?"

"This way." Kelly jerked this head in the opposite direction. In the flickering light of the fires and the glow of the functioning lights, his face looked pale, his eyes dimmer than usual.

Nick pressed his lips together, tightened his hold on his lover, and set off down the hallway. They reached a junction and Kelly peered around, blinking like he couldn't focus. "I think it's this way...What the...Cameron? Cameron!" He pushed out of Nick's arms and stumbled down the hallway, leaving a bloody smear as his hand trailed along the wall for balance.

"Kelly!" Nick grabbed him. "There's no one there."

"No, I saw him." Kelly's legs gave out and he sagged in Nick's arms. "I saw him. I need to help him. I told him I'd come back for him. And I found you guys. Now we have to go back for him."

"Nick! Kelly!" Owen's voice boomed through the tunnels, artificially amplified.

"Here!" Nick called. He slid an arm under Kelly's knees and picked him up, cradling Kelly to his chest. Kelly put up a weak struggle, obviously still fixated on whatever he thought he saw.

Owen appeared through the smoke. He held a gun and a bloody knife. Blood smeared across his face and several pistons were visible through a gash in his neck. "Is he..."

"He's still alive, but he's hurt pretty bad," Nick said. He kept the hallucinations to himself and gripped Kelly tighter, staving off the fear and panic. He could break down later. Right now, he needed to get them out alive.

The tunnels shuddered again, cracking and splitting behind them.

"This way," Owen said. He led them through the smoke and the twisted tunnels until they reached a silver wall. "This is the only way up."

"Is it safe?" Nick asked. Kelly mumbled something incoherent and shifted in his arms, trying to squirm out of them.

Owen shrugged as the door slid open. "Do we have a choice?" He moved out of the way so Nick could go in first.

The doors slid shut right as a large portion of the tunnel collapsed with a violent crack. Nick leaned against the wall, examining Kelly in the blue glow of the lift. Owen pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wound it around Kelly's head.

"Until we can get him stitched up," Owen murmured.

"Thanks," Nick said hoarsely.

Kelly's eyelids fluttered open, his bright eyes a muddled mess of blue, green, and white. "I saw him. Nick..."

Nick kissed Kelly's bloody hair and made shushing noises. "I know, babe." He squeezed his eyes shut against the growing fear that something had shattered in Kelly's mind.


	13. Bromance & Zombies

"Captain!" Ash called from the rigging. He pointed ahead of them.

Zane headed to the roof of the navigation room, his eyes widening at the massive plume of black smoke punching through the white cloud cover. "Take us down!"

He barely registered an _aye aye_ as he watched the smoke billow. His stomach flipped over and he couldn't get air. Oh gods, what if they were too late? He didn't know if he was finally feeling his years or if he realized that they'd pushed their luck one too many times, but a very real fear of something happening to Ty haunted the back of his mind. Of course, it always had. But in recent months, it'd gotten so much worse.

The house along the Americas Land Bridge that his father'd left him was sounding better and better every day.

The airship sank through the clouds, washing the world in billowing white and gray. A chill swept through the ship, sending shudders down Zane's spine. He waited as the clouds slowly parted, his fingernails digging into the wood.

He allowed himself one second of _oh god_ when he saw the burning wreckage and figures wandering over the ground like ants looking for food. His spine straightened and he spun on one heel, heading down to the main deck. He smacked open a comm box. "Take us down for disembark. We got zombies, gentlemen."

The comm crackled. "I'll stay on board and man the gatling," came Elias' gleeful reply.

"I'll keep us on hover," Deuce responded as well.

"Ash, Digger, suit up." Zane checked his pistols and his various knives as he headed for the railing of the ship. He narrowed his eyes at the approaching ground as he grabbed a rope with one hand and pulled a pistol with the other. "Get to ground," he said as Ash and Digger joined him. "Shoot anything you know shouldn't be moving."

He stepped up on the railing and leapt into thin air, aiming and firing at the nearest zombie. The wind whipped around him, cold and tasting of smoke and death. It pulled at his clothes and wrapped around his limbs as he swung wide and fell fast. He fired at several zombies, destroying one and slowing down at least two more before he released the rope and fell the rest of the way to the ground.

He hit hard, collapsing into a roll that nearly drove the breath from his lungs. He came up, pistol ready, as he palmed a knife with his free hand. Two zombies in their French Revolution regalia leered at him, their drooping and desiccated faces sending a wave of revulsion through him. He shot one in the face as he lurched upward and plunged his knife into the other's throat. They hit the ground with sickening thuds at the same time as Ash and Digger landed.

"Where are they supposed to be?" Ash asked as he kicked one in the chest and shot it before it hit the ground.

"Doc mentioned a barn," Digger said as he grabbed one by its head and twisted sharply, breaking its neck. The body fell, leaving the head in Digger's hands. He curled his lip as he dropped it. "I'm gonna have nightmares for a week after this shit."

"I'm not seeing a barn." Ash shot another as he looked around frowning.

"There." Zane pointed to the pile of blown-out rubble. He glanced at the untouched, white farmhouse, a sense of unease filtering through him. The zombie automatons hadn't attacked the house. In fact, it very much looked like they were avoiding it. They swarmed over the rubble, walking through fire, completely oblivious to their own limbs and rotten skin burning.

The air tasted like rot even through his mask.

Zane swallowed the unease and gestured to the house. "That way."

Ash and Digger fell in behind him, firing at automatons or stepping to the side to break a neck. The zombies were little more than obstacles, not trying to attack them like the ones at the ball had. Black ooze dripped from gunshot wounds and broken necks, soaking into the ground and staining the grass the color of death. Pops came from the ship behind them, the gatling gun spinning off and mowing zombies down. Zane could almost imagine Elias cackling as he fired.

They reached the house right as the door burst open and Owen strode out, his gun up and a bloody knife in the other hand. When he saw them, he visibly relaxed. "Thank the gods. My comms are jammed."

"Yeah, we figured that out," Zane said. "Where are the others?"

"Nick and Kelly are--"

"Here." Nick appeared, carrying a very bloody and very still Kelly. "He's alive," he said quickly before anyone could ask. His face was pale, though, his eyes dark and unreadable. Zane knew that look.

Nick was terrified.

"What happened?" Ash asked as he rushed forward, his eyes wide.

"Bomb went off late. He got hit in the head with debris," Nick rattled off. Kelly groaned and shifted, mumbling something incoherent. Nick's expression tightened.

"Where's Ty?" Zane asked, his heart thudding painfully.

"We rescued some kids from the labs," Owen answered as he headed down the steps. "He took them to Mara's."

A small amount of relief filtered through Zane at that news. Ty was probably safe. Mara's was well-hidden. "Let's get back to the ship." He gestured to Nick. "Do you need--"

"I'm fine," Nick answered gruffly as he headed toward the ship.

Ash frowned at Zane, confused. Zane shook his head. "Plow a path, guys."

===

The world was too bright and nothing but pain. Kelly couldn't focus as he tried to pull himself into reality through the thundering in his head. Images swam in and out of recognition. Nausea rolled around in his gut. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Nick?" His voice sounded like sandpaper and sent waves of pain through his throat and down into his chest, which burned with every breath.

"No," came the soft reply.

Kelly squeezed his eyes shut then forced them open again. Brightness blasted to the back of his skull like a bullet and he groaned.

"You should keep your eyes closed. Hurts less."

He knew that voice. His brain slogged through mud, trying to make sense of the fog, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening. "You're dead."

The figure leaned over him, crystalline blue eyes coming into view. "Am I? Well I suppose I am since you left me and never came back."

"Cameron..." Kelly gasped.

"Oh, you remember my name. That's nice."

Kelly struggled to focus on the face hovering over him. All he could see were smudges of color with bright spots of blue in the middle. "No, you're...not...real..." His words died off as the world went dark again.

The next time he surfaced, he detected movement and heard murmuring. He managed a groan and a familiar rough palm slid over his forehead. Kelly nearly cried in relief.

"Shhh, babe," Nick's voice rolled over him like a warm blanket. "You're safe."

"Cameron," he mumbled as he struggled to open his eyes. "He's here."

"Sleep, Kels, please just sleep." Nick's voice sounded frightened and worried. His lips pressed to Kelly's cheekbone and eyelid. Kelly tried to tell him it was okay. That Cameron wouldn't hurt them.

But he couldn't get the words out of his brain before he passed out again.

He awoke gasping for air, pain slamming through him like lightning bolts. He curled on his side, a pathetic whimper escaping his dry lips and tried to look around the darkened room. "No, you're not here."

Cameron tilted his head to one side, his eyes glowing in the darkness. "Since I'm standing here..." he shrugged.

"How...?" Kelly's eyes slid shut against the pain dripping from his head.

Cameron simply hummed.

Another jolt of pain pushed down from his temple, blooming into a full-blown migraine. He cried out as he curled into a ball, the stitches on his temple and on the back of his head pulsing in time with his rapid heartbeat. The door opened, flooding the infirmary with bright light that made him cry out again and bury his face in his hands.

"Kelly!" Nick's voice, Nick's hands, Nick's scent surrounded him.

"Nick," Kelly choked out. "Hurts."

"I know. Hang on."

Something cool pressed to Kelly's neck followed by the stinging prick of a syringe gun. He blindly reached out, grasping Nick's arm. "Cameron." He managed to force his eyes open, squinting against the lamplight behind Nick.

Nick ran his fingertips over Kelly's cheekbone. "We searched the ship, babe. There's no one else on board but us." He scooped something off the floor and deposited Cecily onto Kelly's bed. She poked at Kelly's chin then curled up in a ball against this chest.

Kelly shook his head. "No, he was--" He stopped as he looked at the corner of the infirmary where Cameron had been standing. A tattered coat hung on the wall in his place. "He was right there," he finished weakly. Something close to terror mixed with confusion shot through him.

Nick looked at the corner than back at Kelly. He smiled gently but the warmth didn't quite reach his eyes. He leaned over and kissed him, soft and sweet. "Rest. Let the drugs do their thing."

"But...I saw him," Kelly protested as the drugs battled the pain and a gentle numbness stole over his limbs.

"I know," Nick soothed. He laced their fingers together and kissed Kelly's palm. "Sleep. When you wake up, we'll be at Mara's."

"Pie?" Kelly mumbled, struggling to keep looking at Nick.

Nick slid his palm over Kelly's eyes, forcing them shut. "Yes, pie. You may have to fight Ty for it though." Nick's fingers carded through Kelly's hair, seeming to push the pain away with each pass.

"I can take him," Kelly managed before he passed out again.

===

"How is he?" Zane asked quietly as Nick came out of the infirmary.

Nick glanced at him. "You guys searched the ship for stowaways?"

"Three times. There's no one. What's going on, O?"

Nick scrubbed his palms over his face, his heart racing. "Kelly's hallucinating. He keeps saying he's seeing someone named Cameron." He felt sick, like he'd just betrayed his best friend and lover by telling his captain what _might_ be happening.

"Preston said this would happen," Zane murmured.

"I don't give a goddamn what that asshole said," Nick growled. "There's a fucking stowaway."

"Nick..."

Nick bowed his head, struggling to keep a lid on his temper and fear. The love of his life had a concussion and was seeing things. Even when Kelly managed to open his eyes, the color was all wrong and too dark. Nick felt off-kilter, like a piece of his world was tilting dangerously off the edge and there was nothing he could do to stop it. This wasn't something he could get his tools out and fix. He couldn't take Kelly down to his workshop and replace the broken parts. Kelly didn't have wires and gears. He had a brain that seemed to be fracturing and all Nick could do was watch.

Nick was lost. And helpless.

"There has to be someone on board," he said in a firm voice.

Zane was quiet for a long moment. "We'll look again."

Nick swallowed past the rock in his throat and nodded. "Thanks." He headed back into the darkened infirmary before Zane could say anything else. Kelly lay curled up on his side with his clockwork weasel, his eyes shut and seemingly peaceful. Other than the bandages wrapped around his head and the lines between his brows, he looked normal. Thump on the head. Nothing more. He could almost believe that Kelly would wake up happy and horny and wanting to climb the rigging.

Nick rubbed his chest, trying to dispel the knot of anxiety. He crawled into the bed and curled up behind the other man, pulling him close. He kissed the back of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "You're going to be okay, Kelly. Just...be okay."

Kelly shifted a little but didn't wake up or otherwise acknowledge Nick's presence. Just before Nick drifted off, he thought he felt a presence in the room, but when he looked around, there was no one.


	14. Adopted Pirates

In the shaded lot behind the quaint cabin tucked deep in the forest, Ty watched the kids run around. Smiles widened their little faces. He could imagine their too-bright eyes shining behind their dark goggles. The giant trees of the few surviving old-growth forests provided plenty of protection from the sunlight and prying eyes. The cabin itself had moss and ivy growing all over its roof, camouflaging it from above.

It was the perfect hiding spot.

He detected movement out of the corner of his eye. "You sure it's okay to leave them with you?"

Mara Grady patted him on the arm. "Of course. We have plenty of space. It's either here or on the streets and they wouldn't last a day."

"They wouldn't," Ty murmured. He smiled down at her. "Thanks, Ma."

Mara chuckled as she went back inside. Ty had taken their last name as his own as a sort of homage to the woman who took him and Nick in for a few years. They'd always called her Ma. And, as Sidewinder formed, she became Ma for the entire crew. She always had a safe place and good food for her pirate boys. They'd hidden there often.

First time any of them brought kids, though.

"Your boys coming to pick you up soon?" a gruff voice asked.

Ty glanced at Earl, Mara's husband, and nodded. "Hopefully. Unless something delayed them. It's a bigger ship than last time."

"It'll fit," Earl grunted.

"No, really, we added levels," Ty said with an arched eyebrow.

Earl lifted his chin. "It'll fit, son."

Ty held up his good hand. "Yes, sir."

"Where'd you get these kids anyway?"

Ty watched two of the girls sprawl on the grass like they were making snow angels. "You know Doc's weird eyes?"

Earl nodded. "Those kids have 'em too."

"Same medical experiment," Ty said in a low voice. "Partly funded by Zane's family."

Earl whistled low. "Damn."

"Yeah. We blew the labs, but I had to get out of there with the kids."

Earl clapped him on the shoulder. "It was the right call. You got a good crew, boy."

Ty warmed under the older man's praise. He didn't know much about Earl's past but he'd gleaned enough information over the years to figure he'd been one hell of an airship pirate himself. Same with Chester, Earl's daddy, who sat in a rocking chair a few feet away with a shovel resting in his lap, watching the kids like a hawk. Chester and Earl taught Nick and Ty (and later Kelly) how to survive in the elements. Mara taught them how to cook and assemble a rifle.

Ty often found himself wishing they'd been his real family. But they were, in a way, even if their blood didn't match.

The churning of engines overhead caused everyone to look up. A couple of the kids shrieked and ran to the house, pushing their way inside. Ty pulled his pistol while Earl slung a shotgun over his shoulders and glared at the sky. Chester remained seated but kept his shovel in his lap.

A massive black hull slid by overhead, angled southwest toward the nearby valley and a set of caves that worked perfectly to hide large ships. Ty sighed in relief. Earl patted his shoulder. "I'll go tell Mara."

"I heard the ship, Earl!" Mara called from in the kitchen. "Get in here and peel me some potatoes."

Ty laughed as Earl pursed his lips then headed inside without protest.

It took a good half hour before the Sidewinder crew broke the treeline. Ty's immediate joy at seeing Zane leading the way was tempered by Nick carrying Kelly. He hopped off the back porch and jogged across the grass toward them. "What happened?"

Zane grabbed Ty's arm as Nick headed toward the cabin, holding Kelly close. "He has a concussion."

Ty frowned. He watched Mara meet Nick at the door and bustle him inside. "So why does O look so worried?"

Zane pulled his mask off and kissed Ty. "First, hi."

Ty smiled, sliding his arms under Zane's coat, tracing muscles through the man's roughspun shirt. "Hi."

"I'm glad you're safe," Zane said as he ran his knuckles over Ty's cheekbone.

"I'm okay. Well, my hand's a little fucked up."

Zane rolled his eyes. "Of course it is. You can't go one mission without damaging it, can you?"

"Probably not, no. So what's wrong with Kelly?"

Zane's smile fell and he glanced at the house. "Remember what Preston asked Nick? About the hallucinations."

Ty nodded, his stomach lurching.

Zane chewed his lower lip. "Kelly's seeing things. He keeps insisting some guy named Cameron is on the ship."

"You searched the ship?"

"No, Ty, we just assumed Doc was a liar and wrote it off to crazy." Zane scowled at him.

"Okay, you searched the ship." Ty pulled away and they started walking toward the house.

"Four times. No one."

"It could just be the concussion," Ty suggested hopefully.

Zane slid his hand into Ty's and squeezed it. "Maybe. I hope so. For Nick's sake."

Ty's heart twisted as they walked into the house and met the eyes of their crew. Eli and Digger were in the kitchen, already helping with potatoes, but they were quiet. Ash was sitting with Deuce while Deuce checked out the rend in Owen's neck. Ty trailed after Zane as he wound through the cabin to one of the downstairs guest rooms.

Zane knocked softly on the door before opening it. Mara, who'd been a nurse when she was much younger, was bent over Kelly's unbandaged head, examining the stitches on his temple. Nick was leaning against the wall, keeping out of the way and running his thumb over his lower lip. He looked at Ty with hollow eyes.

Ty chewed the inside of his cheek. "You really need to stop dropping your boyfriend, Irish. He doesn't always land on his feet."

Nick gave him a weak smile. He pointed to Ty's broken hand and gestured to it. "Let me see it."

"It really wasn't my fault," Ty said quickly as he moved across the room.

"Never is," Nick murmured as he took a closer look at the blown out hole. "I might have to rebuild your hand. I can connect some wires and, if you wear a glove, you should be able to use it without electrocuting yourself."

"That'd be a plus. Can we skip the hook this time?" Ty asked hopefully.

Nick patted him on the cheek but didn't answer as he moved over to Mara. "What do you think?"

"You did a good job, Nicky," Mara said as she straightened and smoothed her skirts. "There's no infection. Some minor swelling. Really all we can do is let him rest. Try to get him to eat every time he wakes up. You bring meds?"

Nick pointed to a battered satchel on the side table. Mara pulled him in for a hug, which was slightly awkward given his nearly five inches on her. But his fingers dug into her blouse and he buried his face in her neck. Ty looked at Kelly's peaceful form and swallowed around a rock in his throat.

Mara murmured things only Nick could hear and he nodded, pulling away with glassy eyes and a weak smile. She patted his chest and turned to Ty and Zane. "Food'll be up soon. I expect y'all need to talk over dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Ty murmured as he watched Nick sit on the edge of the bed and push his fingers through Kelly's hair. "Nick."

"There's someone on the ship," Nick said quietly.

Zane bowed his head and exhaled slowly. Ty squeezed his arm. "Listen, Irish, I'll search the ship myself when we get back on board. You and me. Okay?"

Nick sniffed and nodded. "I'll be out in a bit."

Ty caught the dismissal and tugged on Zane's arm. Zane waited until the door shut before leveling Ty with a look. "You'll search the ship?"

"I was going to anyway. I need to see for myself. He needs to see, too." Ty kissed Zane softly. "Switch positions with him and it's me on that bed," he whispered.

Zane's eyes were dark and sad. "I'd rip the ship apart looking for whoever you said you saw."

Ty nodded. "Let Nick rip the ship apart. There's nothing else we can do for Kelly...but pray." He pulled away and patted Zane's hip as he headed back to the main room. Zane followed, his movements quiet and his face pensive.

Ty pulled a chair from the table and slid into it. "Okay, tell me what happened at the ball."

Digger and Eli exchanged looks and glanced at Zane. "Uhm, well," Eli started. "Clockwork zombies."

Ty's eyebrows rose. "Those half-dead robot motherfuckers?"

"Language," Mara chided from the stove.

"Pirate," Ty countered with a saucy grin.

"No food," Mara shot back.

Ty slumped. "Yes, ma'am."

The room filled with snickers. No matter how big and badass any of them were, they all obeyed Mara with minimal pushback. She was Ma in every sense of the word.

Eli tried several times to school his expression as he nodded. "Yeah, half-dead robots."

Ty frowned. "I shot one when we were leaving with the kids."

"We ran into more when we came out of the house," Owen said as Deuce stitched the skin on his neck.

"They were swarming over the wreckage of the barn when we arrived," Zane said as he leaned on the wall behind Ty.  His presence helped Ty focus. Now that Zane was safe, Ty felt as though he could really breathe again.

"What caused the barn to blow?" Owen asked.

"Chain reaction," Nick's quiet voice drifted over. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, his eyes hard and his face drawn. "The explosions in the lab set off a fail-safe. At least that's what Kelly thought..." He cleared his throat. "What he thinks happened."

"Did you guys get the research?" Ty asked.

Nick smirked. "Little bastard was insistent on it even though his head was bleeding everywhere."

Zane chuckled. "Your boy's insane."

"Takes one to know one."

Zane pointed at him. His attention shifted to Earl. "Any grave robbings lately?"

"You accusing or asking if I've heard of any?" Earl lifted his chin.

Digger barked a laugh. "Yeah, Earl, you been robbing graves at night?"

"Where do you think we get all the meat for Mara's stew?" he asked with a wink.

Mara swatted him with a spoon then went back to cooking with an eye roll and a small smile.

Ash patted his belly. "Mmmm, fresh aristocrat. Fattier than peasant."

"Dirt gives it better seasoning," Eli added with a snicker.

"There's something wrong with all of you," Ty muttered as he tried not to laugh. He watched Nick pull a chair from the far end of the table and slump into it, his eyes on the conversation but his focus still back in the guest room with his lover.

Earl sobered. "There's been grave robbing. We thought it was the normal thieves at first--the ones after fresh organs for the black market."

"But it got worse," Deuce said as he finished up with Owen's throat.

Earl nodded. "Several graves a night. They even broke into some of the fancy mausoleums."

"How many cemeteries were hit?" Zane asked.

"More like how many _weren't_." Earl grabbed the stack of plates Mara handed him and set them in the middle of the table. "No one knows what's going on or why so many bodies. What are you boys involved in this time?"

Ty poked at the hole in his clockwork hand and frowned. "We don't really know yet."

Mara made a noise that said she didn't believe him but she didn't ask. "Supper's on. Go wash up." She held up a hand. "No protesting. You're lucky I didn't hose you down before you came inside. Now get."

Nick pushed away from the table abruptly. "Not hungry. I'll be in the back." He walked out without another word.

Ty bowed his head and clenched his fists. He had no idea what was going on. If Kelly would be okay. If Nick could still focus on the task at hand while Kelly was in such a state. Even a year ago when Kelly was captured, Nick clung to his single-minded focus to get Kelly back. Now, Nick seemed gutted.

And angry.

This was beyond a simple thump on the head, and they all knew it. Ty couldn't say for sure how he'd be if it were Zane back there instead of Kelly. How he'd act knowing there was _nothing_ he could do but wait to see how fractured the man he loved was.

Zane's hand slid over his shoulder and squeezed, the warmth sliding deep into Ty. He turned his head and rested his chin on Zane's knuckles while his men moved around, washing hands, getting food on plates, and pulling up to the table. He only moved when a plate slid in front of him.

"Announcement on the radio about your summit thing," Chester said as he shuffled into the kitchen.

Ty exchanged a confused look with Zane.

"What announcement?" Zane asked.

"What's in this?" Chester asked as he nearly stuck his entire face in the pot.

Mara pushed on his shoulder and directed him to an empty chair. "Meat."

Chester grunted as he sat.

"Chester," Owen said. "The summit."

"Postponed," Chester said as he tucked into the food Mara set in front of him. "Because some pirates shot up the ball." He looked at Zane with a raised eyebrow.

"They're blaming it on us?" Digger cried.

Owen patted him on the shoulder. "You sound surprised."

"I should've shot more people," Eli muttered.

Ty leaned back in his chair and glanced at Zane as the other man took a seat next to him. "We head back to the summit. We need to figure out who's behind the zombies."

"First you eat, and you clean your plate," Mara said as she pointed to Ty's food. "Then y'all sleep here. You can leave in the morning."

"Yes, ma'am," the entire crew of the infamous Airship Sidewinder mumbled into their food.


	15. Eye of the Storm

Zane pulled his mask off as he sat on the edge of the bed in his cabin and rubbed his temples. The thrum of the ship's engines vibrated the floor under his boots. They'd woken early to get underway and were taking a circuitous route back to Switzerland on the off-chance they were being watched. Their current course would bring them back well after nightfall and allow them to make certain visits under the cloak of darkness.

They'd spent the entire day preparing for anything and everything. Kelly was safely in his and Nick's cabin with Nick keeping a constant vigil and insisting he was _fine_ to anyone who dared to ask. Owen and Deuce were trying to figure out the zombie automatons and cursing the lack of foresight to grab one of the dead ones for dissection. Ash, Digger, and Eli were tasked with taking a full inventory of weapons and other supplies. Ty and Zane had been crossing paths on their own ship, barely in the same room for longer than five minutes before someone needed them for something. When Ty disappeared into Nick's workshop to get his hand looked at after he harassed Nick nonstop for an hour, Zane finally gave his ship a mental _fuck it_ and escaped to his quarters.

"You okay?" Ty's voice drifted over from the doorway.

Zane nodded and looked up with a tired smile. "You?"

Ty held up his mechanical hand. Chocolate brown leather with copper rivets along the forearm encased the metalwork. "I have to make do with a patch and a glove until Nick can rebuild my hand."

"You should probably stop getting it shot."

Ty rolled his eyes as he shut the door and shucked his duster. "It's not always entirely my fault that I get shot, you know." He tossed it and his hat into a chair in the corner.

Zane smirked. "I'm sure your mouth has something do with it." He tilted his head to the side and admired the way Ty's pants hugged his hips and his ass. The way his waistcoat outlined his trim torso.

"You like my mouth," Ty said with a grin and a wink as he unbuckled his pistol belt and added it to the pile. His long fingers nimbly undid the buttons of his waistcoat and he slid out of it. His undershirt followed, revealing golden skin littered with scars, the largest being where his shoulder ended and his mechanical arm began. The worn, leather glove protecting his patched hand went up to Ty's elbow and appeared to be attached to the metalwork.

"I might be the only one." Zane leaned back on his hands, watching Ty pulled his boots off one by one. They fell to the floor with hollow thuds. "Changing?"

Ty shook his head as he prowled toward Zane. He crawled past him onto the bed and flopped down dramatically. "We have a few hours till we dock. Everyone is busy."

"Is this your way of seducing me? Stripping and lounging on the bed?" Zane turned around, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Is it working?" Ty asked as he spread his arms out invitingly. In his sprawling, his pants had pulled down enough to expose his hipbone on one side.

Zane rolled his eyes as he leaned over and nipped Ty's hipbone. "You're impossible."

Ty gasped. "You love me."

Zane hummed as he pressed kisses along the waistband of Ty's pants. "Maybe a little."

Ty laughed. "Jackass."

Zane tugged down the other side of Ty's pants to expose his other hipbone and bit it. Ty sucked in a breath, his real hand tangling in Zane's curls. Zane smiled and crawled up the bed, stretching out half on the bed and half on Ty. He traced Ty's lips with his finger before kissing him softly. Ty sighed against his mouth, his arms wrapping around Zane's neck and his body going languid under Zane's roaming touch.

"You know the only disadvantage to having our quarters far away from everyone else's?" Zane asked between kisses.

Ty hummed questioningly.

"No one can hear you scream when I fuck you." Zane trailed kisses down Ty's stubbled jaw and nipped at his ear.

"Oh god," Ty groaned. His hands slid down Zane's back and one leg curled up over Zane's hip. He pulled and tugged until Zane settled his full weight on Ty's warm body. Ty spread his legs so Zane could settle comfortably between them and hooked one foot around Zane's calf.

They kissed longer and longer, licking at lips and teeth, biting at tongues. Hands trailed down every inch of skin they could reach without breaking the kisses.

"You have on too many clothes," Ty muttered as he shoved his hands under Zane's shirt.

Zane laughed and pushed up enough for Ty to shove the offending material off him. Ty's hands slid into Zane's pants, grabbing at his ass and pulling at him demandingly.

"Can I help you?" Zane nipped at Ty's lips.

Ty growled and thrust his hips, pushing the head of his cock against the crease of Zane's groin. Zane ducked his head and ran his teeth down Ty's neck. He pinched Ty's nipple and held on as Ty gasped and writhed under him. Zane continued kissing down the center of Ty's chest, replacing his fingers with his lips and sucking and biting on Ty's nipple until a near-constant whine erupted from Ty's lips. Zane smiled against Ty's skin and kept kissing down his stomach.

"You're a goddamn tease," Ty gasped.

"Don't lie. You love it." Zane licked down the center of Ty's abs, which clenched under the contact. He palmed Ty's cock over the top of his pants and squeezed as he dragged his teeth over Ty's ribs.

Ty groaned and thrust against Zane's hand, his feet kicking uselessly across the bed covers. He grabbed at Zane's hair, his shoulders and arms. "Baby..."

Zane blew out a steadying breath as he undid Ty's pants and tugged at them. Ty made quick work kicking out of the rest of his clothing then surged up and tackled Zane, driving him back on the bed and attacking his chest, neck, and lips with his mouth. He pushed and pulled at Zane's pants until they hit the floor somewhere in the vicinity of Ty's. Zane wrapped his arms around Ty and rolled them, pinning Ty to the bed and rutting against him as their kisses turned more needy and bruising than soft and sweet.

Ty gasped and pushed his head back into the pillows, exposing his neck for Zane's lips. Their hips rolled together, skin snagging and sliding as they moved, heat building. "Zane..."

Zane pushed up and reached for the side table, rummaging blindly through the drawer while Ty kissed any part of Zane he could reach. Ty reached between them and grasped Zane's cock, stroking him languidly and stuttering Zane's search. "Fuck," Zane breathed.

"That's the goal, princess," Ty growled. "Take your time."

"How about you be a little more patient?" Zane gritted out.

"How about you fuck me already?"

Zane snorted as he found the bottle and dropped it on the bed by Ty's head. He thrust into Ty's hand and bit Ty's earlobe. "How about you ride me?"

Ty moaned softly. "Aye, captain."

Zane smiled as he moved, slowly fucking Ty's warm grip. He pulled back, moving out of Ty's reach, and kissed down Ty's body, licking at Ty's leaking cock before wrapping his lips around it and slowly sinking down. Ty shouted and jolted off the bed, his hands clutching at Zane's hair as he thrust into Zane's mouth. Zane groaned, the vibrations making Ty moan and curl his fingers tighter. Zane curled his tongue as he pulled off, taking his time until Ty was free.

Sweat sheened Ty's chest as he pushed up and grabbed Zane. They rolled, ending up with Ty straddling Zane's hips. Ty's torso moved, rocking his hips and grinding his ass against Zane's cock. Zane pressed his tongue to his teeth as he watched. Ty's body was goddamn beautiful and he'd never get tired watching it twist and roll. He fumbled for the bottle of lubricant and squeezed some out on his fingers. "Come here, doll."

Ty moved forward enough for Zane to stroke him with one hand while reaching between Ty's legs and sliding one finger slowly inside Ty's asshole. Ty's head fell back, his hips constantly moving. His legs trembled as he hovered above Zane's stomach. Zane added a second then a third finger, marveling at how Ty's body kept up its rhythm, riding Zane's fingers and fucking Zane's fist.

"Fucking hell, you're gorgeous," Zane breathed.

Ty looked down at him, his face flushed, his lower lip caught between his teeth, and winked. He grabbed the bottle and filled his hand with lubricant, reaching behind him without breaking eye contact and slicking up Zane's cock. Zane groaned and pulled his hands away.

Ty leaned over and kissed Zane brutally, not breaking the kiss as Zane grabbed Ty's hips and pushed him backward. Ty bit Zane's lower lip and held on as Zane's cock dragged up Ty's ass, just missing entry. Zane moaned and scraped his nails up Ty's ribs. Ty pushed back again, and Zane entered him. They cried out as Zane sank inside, pushing further in as Ty sat up. Ty's human hand landed in the middle of Zane's chest for leverage, his fingers digging into Zane's skin as he moved, trying to find a rhythm he could maintain.

Zane grabbed Ty's thighs and held on, his grip tight and punishing but neither of them cared. Not when Ty moved like _that_. Ty rolled slowly and moaned. Zane thrust into him with what little leverage he had. Together, they found their rhythm and lost themselves to each other, the ship, the sky, and everything in between completely disappearing.

"Oh god, Ty," Zane managed after several long minutes.

"Not yet, baby," Ty gasped as he moved. He leaned over and kissed Zane, more a glance of lips than an actual kiss.

Zane grabbed Ty's neck and held him in place, kissing him long and hard as their movements slowed with the new position. He pushed at Ty's shoulder, rolling them until Ty was on his back. Zane pushed up to his knees and grabbed Ty's hips, manhandling him closer.

"Thought you wanted me to ride you," Ty said as he watched with dark golden eyes.

Zane dragged his teeth over his lower lip as he thrust into Ty hard. "Thought you wanted me to fuck you."

"I have no idea what got into you today," Ty said as he wrapped his legs around Zane's waist. "But fucking hell I love it."

Zane chuckled darkly as he moved, giving into his body's demands to fuck Ty hard and fast. Ty's shouts grew in volume until there was no way he couldn't be heard from the other end of the ship. Zane lost himself in the heat of Ty's body and the hoarse demands for _more_ and _harder_. He stretched himself over Ty's body, resting his forehead on Ty's chin, sweat dripping down his face onto Ty's throat. Ty's hands clutched and tugged at Zane's back and hips, nails digging in and leaving marks, the leather of his glove sliding through the sweat.

Zane squeezed his eyes shut and shouted as his body coiled so tight it was borderline painful. He barely registered Ty's urgings and begging as he came deep in Ty's body. Ty rolled his hips through Zane's orgasm, reaching between them to stroke himself. Zane gasped for breath and watched Ty's hand move. He kissed and nipped down Ty's neck to his chest, biting Ty's nipple hard. Ty shouted a string of curses and came over his hand and across his stomach, some of it hitting the side of Zane's jaw.

Zane smiled and pushed up. Ty grinned tiredly back, reaching up to wipe his own come off Zane's stubble. "Hot."

"Very," Zane hummed. He carefully pulled out and rolled off Ty, stretching out on his back on the bed with a faint groan. Ty's hand found his and held it, both of them catching their breath and slowing their heart rates back to something resembling normal.

"Think the crew heard us?" Ty asked, a smile in his voice.

Zane laughed and pulled Ty's hand to his lips. "Baby, I think every ship in the vicinity heard you."

Ty huffed and rolled until his head was on Zane's chest. He slung a leg over Zane's thigh and snuggled down. Zane wrapped his arm around Ty's shoulders and pressed a kiss to Ty's sweat-dampened hair. He watched the clouds slide past through the window, an odd sense of darkness creeping in. He hated this feeling. Like they were approaching the other side of the eye of the storm and second half of the hurricane would be so much worse.

"Do you feel it too?" Ty asked in a low voice.

Zane nodded. "Yeah."

Ty pushed up on one elbow and kissed Zane softly. "I love you."

Zane ran his fingertips over Ty's cheekbone. "I love you too."

Ty settled back on Zane's chest and Zane resumed watching the clouds. The sky slowly turned from blue to orange as the setting sun lit the world on fire.


	16. Now You Don't

"No, you need to lay still." Nick put his hand in the center of Kelly's chest and pushed him back on the bed.

Kelly huffed an over-exaggerated sigh and flopped back on the pillows. "Bored now," he sing-songed in a scratchy voice.

Nick smiled down at him as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You were blown up two days ago, babe. You need to rest."

Kelly rolled his eyes and grabbed for the edge of Nick's shirt. "I wasn't blown up. I was lightly batted about the skull with debris."

Nick barked a laugh, the sound warming Kelly's chest. He knew Nick was worried as hell even though he was doing a damn good job of not showing it. Kelly tugged on Nick's shirt, pulling until Nick leaned over and braced his hands on either side of Kelly's head. Kelly grinned and wound his arms around Nick's neck. He slung a leg around Nick's lower back and tightened, playfully holding Nick in place. Nick could easily break free, and they both knew it, but Nick just shook his head with a grin and gently rested his weight on Kelly.

"That's better," Kelly purred.

"You should be resting."

"I _am_ resting. I'm on the bed and I'm using you as a blanket." Kelly widened his eyes in an overly innocent expression as he slid his other foot up the back of Nick's calf.

Nick sighed and ran his fingers over Kelly's cheekbone. "You're impossible."

"You love me," Kelly stated. He turned his head to kiss Nick's fingertips.

Nick hummed and kissed him softly, keeping the kiss on the edge of light and gentle and easy. Kelly smiled against Nick's lips and nipped the lower one as he squeezed Nick's hips with his thighs. Nick's hand drifted down Kelly's side and curled around his hipbone, rubbing his thumb over the clockwork heart tattoo there and holding him down as he kept the kissing slow and gentle.

"Nick," Kelly whined and squirmed.

"Resting," Nick rumbled as he kissed Kelly's neck with faint brushes of lips and the occasional drag of teeth.

"Horny," Kelly countered.

Nick laughed against his skin. "When are you not horny?"

"The first sixty seconds after you finish fucking me," Kelly answered immediately.

"Before your brain comes back online."

"Exactly." Kelly grabbed Nick's hair and tugged him back up to Kelly's lips. "The way I see it, the best rest I'm going to get is post-orgasm. Really you'd be doing me a medical favor."

Nick raised his eyebrows in an expression of mock interest. "A medical favor."

"I'm a doctor. I know these things."

"You're a little shit is what you are."

Kelly grinned proudly. "Yes."

Nick rolled his eyes and kissed him again, this time harder, firmer, adding teeth and tongue. Kelly groaned in victory, sliding his hands down Nick's back and tugging at his shirt. In truth, his head ached, dizziness came and went in waves, and his body felt like one giant bruise, but he was already tired of being babied and handled like precious china. He knew everyone thought he was going crazy. Hell, _he_ even thought he might be going crazy. He'd rationalized that it was impossible for Cameron to even be on the ship, let alone alive. The only possible explanation was the knock to his head. The hallucinations would pass eventually. He had to believe that for his own sanity's sake.

"Come back," Nick whispered as he kissed Kelly.

"What?" Kelly asked breathlessly as the pounding in his head increased.

"Wherever you went, come back." A hint of worry flashed through Nick's green eyes.

Dizziness swamped Kelly and he clutched at Nick, blinking until it passed. He managed a wide smile. "I'm here."

Nick frowned. "Kels."

Kelly drifted his fingers down Nick's face, tracing freckles down to his lips. "I'm here. I'm okay." He leaned up and nipped at Nick's lower lip. "Kiss me."

A shudder rolled down Nick's body and he pushed Kelly into the pillows, kissing him with unrestrained fervor. Kelly gasped, rocking his hips into Nick's as Nick pulled away and kissed down Kelly's jaw, biting at the skin and sucking lightly as he went. He kissed down Kelly's neck and sucked on his pulse point. Kelly groaned and tilted his head, giving Nick more access.

His attention snagged on movement in the corner of the room as another wave of dizziness crashed over him. Kelly froze as blue eyes glowed from the shadows.

===

Nick stopped biting Kelly's neck when he felt Kelly go absolutely rigid underneath him. He raised his head slowly, his heart dropping into his stomach when he saw the fear streak through Kelly's bright eyes as he stared over Nick's shoulder. "Kelly."

Kelly licked his lips and deliberately looked at Nick. "It's nothing."

"So if I turn around, there's nothing there?"

Kelly's gaze darted over Nick's shoulder again and his body relaxed a fraction. "Nope. Nothing."

Nick raised an eyebrow. He pushed off Kelly with a sigh. "You need to sleep."

"Nick--"

"Who's Cameron?" Nick sat on the edge of the bed. He purposefully didn't look at the corner where Kelly's gaze kept darting. "Babe, you're seeing someone you claim is dead. We've searched the ship five times and I'm trying really hard to believe you, but you've got to give me more, okay?"

Kelly pulled himself up to sit against the headboard. He frowned down at his hands and looked at the corner again. "He's gone."

"Gone right now? Or..."

"Gone right now." Kelly rested his head against the headboard, his bright eyes on the ceiling. They kept the cabin so dim for the safety of Kelly's eyes that their brightness snagged and held Nick's attention. He hated what Kelly had been through to get them, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit that Kelly's stormy eyes were the most beautiful goddamn things on the planet.

Nick reached for Kelly's hand and laced their fingers together. "Talk to me."

Kelly watched their fingers twine. Lines appeared between his brows and he took breaths like he was going to start several times before he said, "He was a kid in the program. He was the only one who really knew I could talk and we...we protected each other. He was always waiting for me when I came back from treatments because I always fought the doctors and they chained me and it was too tight..." Kelly's voice roughened as his attention focused on his leather-covered wrists. "Anyway, he took care of me as best he could because I was always bleeding and pretty sick."

Nick's grip tightened and a wave of anger rushed through him. He wished they'd run into an actual doctor or guard in those labs purely for the purpose of punching their teeth down their throat. "What happened to him?"

Kelly glanced at the corner again. "He was picked for phase three. We had this plan to escape and go get help. I...never found help."

"That's not your fault," Nick said quickly.

Kelly shrugged, his gaze sliding everywhere but Nick's face. "Yeah, sure."

"Kelly--"

"He's dead now." Kelly looked at him sharply, his voice thinning as the emotion built. "They all are. He's dead because I couldn't get an adult to help me. He's dead because when I found you and Ty, I was so relieved you were nice to me, I didn't want you think I was crazy by telling you about the labs. I kept my mouth shut because it'd been six months and who the fuck knew if they were even alive. But he might have been and I never got help. And now he's dead." Kelly's voice cracked. He took a shuddering breath and yanked his hand away as he settled back down on the bed. "I'm going to rest."

Nick opened his mouth to protest but closed it again as Kelly rolled to his side, his back to Nick. The dim lamplight caught the stitches on the side of his temple and the nasty bruising trailing down his cheek. Nick stood and drew the covers over Kelly, tucking them around him gently. He bent over and kissed him on the head. "I love you," he whispered into Kelly's hair. He closed his eyes against the burning in the corners and the heaviness in his chest. He didn't know how to fix this.

"Love you too," Kelly whispered back, his voice thick. He curled into a tight ball, much like he used to when he and Nick first started sharing a bed all those years ago. Before Nick convinced him that it was okay to take up space. Seeing Kelly revert back to that behavior was like a kick to Nick's sternum.

Nick straightened, deliberated for about five seconds, then slowly turned around.

Nothing.

He grabbed his coat on his way out of their cabin, pulling the door shut quietly behind him. A quick glance over the railing confirmed the approaching swiss airship docks. He pulled on his coat as he headed down to the armory, his mind spinning over new plans. Tapping followed him as he descended the stairs, and he smiled at Cecily as she bounded after. She hopped into his outstretched hand and wound her way up to his shoulder. "I need you to stay here, pretty girl. Keep an eye on him. I got to go see a man about some information."

Cecily chirruped and jumped off his shoulder, her sleek white body scurrying up the stairs and disappearing.

Nick grabbed a brace of pistols and a knife to strap around his thigh. He fastened another two on each wrist as he left the armament level. He briefly debated telling Ty where he was going, but Ty would either want to come or want to send someone with and they needed everyone to deal with the zombie automaton problem.

A heavy fog curled around the docks, hiding edges and neighboring ships until it was nearly too late. Nick didn't worry. Sidewinder was in good hands with Owen and Deuce at the engines. As he watched the dock slide alongside their ship, he spared one last glance up to their cabin where Kelly was hopefully asleep. Nick grabbed the railing and vaulted it, landing with a thud on the metal dock. He vanished into the fog without another look back.

Time to get more answers from Preston.


	17. What Would Monkey Do

_The People's Republic of Fifth Amsterdam: Twelve years ago_

Nick leaned against the crumbling brick wall, careful to stay out of the long slick of mold climbing the red stonework, and craned his neck. He squinted against the pollution-diffused sunlight as he watched Kelly scale the alleyway walls, slim fingers and bare toes finding holds. The kid pushed off one wall and bounced back and forth three times before hanging onto a windowsill lip a good twenty-five feet in the air.

"You're going to break your neck!" Nick called.

Kelly peered over his shoulder, his eyes hidden behind black goggles cinched so tight, his messy hair stuck out at odd angles around the straps. He grinned, his face splitting wide and carefree. It sent a jolt to Nick's gut as he watched Kelly climb. The guy was completely fearless.

And hot as hell.

Nick grimaced inwardly as the thought barreled forward again. It'd been six months since their kiss in the bar to create a diversion so Ty could steal the ming vase back from their unknown rival. While Ty was riled up over this dark-haired guy seemingly stalking them, Nick couldn't get the kiss out of his head. The way Kelly'd felt in his arms had been too damn nice and his arms sometimes ached with the need to feel it again.

Like right now.

Nick rubbed his bicep as he watched Kelly pause, searching for a handhold, then pop straight up and twist in mid-air, catching the edge of the opposite roof. He used his momentum to pull himself up, vanishing from Nick's sight. His smiling face appeared moments later and he waved, pulling a laugh from Nick's throat.

Six months and neither of them had said a word about it, but Nick had caught himself staring more often than not. Dreaming of more than just that kiss. Waking up covered in sweat and turned on as all hell. Finding excuses to be near him all the time. Actually being a little glad when Kelly had a nightmare because it meant he would crawl into bed with Nick and curl into him for comfort.

He'd put money on a few times he caught Kelly watching him as well. The guy was all sharp edges and borderline insane fearlessness, but he was a ball of sunshine. Nick suspected his eyes weren't natural but he'd never asked. He never wanted to destroy Kelly's sunshine. He wanted to bask in it. He wanted more than that, but he had no idea how to even broach it.

For all he knew, the kiss had just been a damn diversion and nothing more. That anything after was entirely in Nick's head. Kelly loved everyone and got along with everyone and was goofy with everyone. To think Kelly would feel any different about Nick was...

_Stupid._

"You're thinking awfully hard," Kelly's voice chirped from behind him.

Nick turned slowly, meeting bright eyes as Kelly perched on a crate and pushed his goggles up. "Did you fly down?"

Kelly shrugged lazily and shifted until he was sitting on the crate, his bare feet thunking against the worn wood. He frowned down at the box. "What's in this? Smells like grass."

Nick peered at the side. "Beans."

"Huh." Kelly pursed his lips then shrugged. "Okay. Nevermind." He blew out a breath and rubbed his palms on his thighs. "Nicko, I have a problem."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Just one?"

"Shut up, jackass." Kelly swatted him on the chest and moved so he was more in the shade.

"You should put your goggles back on," Nick said. He reached up but Kelly grabbed his hand. Instead of batting it away like he'd normally do, Kelly laced his fingers with Nick's and chewed on his lower lip.

"Nick, I um..." Kelly rubbed his forehead with his free hand, leaving a dirt smudge across his tanned skin. "There's something I need to tell you and I need you to not freak out, okay?"

Nick stared at their twined hands, unable to speak. His heart bounced around his ribcage, his lungs feeling like they were shrinking. "Kels," he managed.

Kelly smiled at him. "I really love it when you call me that, you know? You're the only who does. That and monkey."

Nick nodded and swallowed hard, forcing his gaze to Kelly's illuminated blue-green eyes.

Kelly sucked in a deep breath and licked his lips. "It's not the only thing I love. I mean, I love that you always come with me when I climb, and I know that it's not just so you can tease me. It's so you can catch me if I fall. And I love that I can crawl into bed with you when I have nightmares and you've never once asked me what I have nightmares about even though I know that you really want to know. And I love that you could just ask and I'd tell you in a heartbeat, but you don't ask because you know that it'll make you mad and you'll do something stupid because you...because you care about me." Kelly's thumb rubbed back and forth over Nick's index finger.

Nick tried to speak twice and failed. He just stared at Kelly, a buzzing in his ears.

He squared his shoulders. "I don't want you to respond right now, okay? I just...I can't stop thinking about this and I need to say something or I'll explode into a million tiny pieces and I've already got so much up in my head already so telling you this gets it out of my head and out here into the air and I don't have to keep it swallowed down anymore and then you'll know and I know and that can be that--"

"Kelly..."

"I'm in love with you," Kelly said in a rush.

The world screeched to a halt, the momentum of the planet slamming into Nick so hard, he couldn't breathe.

"That stupid kiss," Kelly went on, talking faster and faster. "That stupid fucking kiss and I realized that it wasn't just a diversion. It was an excuse to kiss you because I fell for you a while ago, but you wanted Ty and I can't compete with Ty. I mean, he's _Ty_ and who wouldn't want him. I'm just this scrawny kid with fucked-up eyes and there's no way that you--"

Nick kissed him before he could get air for his next run-on sentence. Kelly made a muffled sound of surprise before his other arm wound around Nick's neck and he kissed him back with a faint happy noise that settled deep in Nick's chest like warm oil. Kelly's legs wrapped around Nick's thighs and pulled him flush with the crate and his lean body. Nick pulled his hand free of Kelly's fingers so he could wrap his arms around Kelly and hold him while they kissed.

"We're just stupid kids," Kelly breathed as they parted slightly. "But I don't care. I get this stupid fluttery feeling when I think about you and I don't ever want that to go away."

Nick smiled. "Me too."

"You get a fluttery feeling?" Kelly asked with a smirk.

Nick swallowed past nerves and kissed him softly. "I love you too, monkey."

===

_Switzerland: Present Day_

Nick blew out a breath as he headed through the crowded streets. The crowd seemed to part for his broad shoulders and unsmiling demeanor. He kept one hand near his pistols, the other curled into a fist as he wound his way deeper into the city. Airships rumbled by overhead, wind riders zipping in between them. Steam carriages pulled by bronzed clockwork horses clattered over the cobbled streets. Street vendors shouted, hawking their wares to anyone foolish enough to stop or glance their way. The city was in a tumult after the sudden halt to the summit festivities. Everywhere he went, he heard snatches of conversation talking about soldiers and monsters. Fear coated the city like slime and a general unease infected its bones.

He ignored everyone but saw everything.

He spent most of the morning leaving messages with various thieves and pirates loitering around the city. Then he parked himself at a seedy little bar off the beaten path. It was clean enough and well-lived in, with ornate sconces lining the walls. A stenciled fleur-de-lis design covered the dark walls, smudged or missing completely in places. The high windows and perpetual film of the city provided enough shadow for respectable business.

Nick leaned against the wall and put his boots up on the table. He kept a grip on the pistol resting in his lap and leisurely drank his beer without taking his eye off the door.

He waited an hour before the door opened and a slim figure slipped in. Preston's eyes narrowed as he scanned the room, landing on Nick after a moment. He threaded his way through the tables and stood across from Nick.

Nick gestured with his pistol. "Have a seat."

"I don't prefer my back to the door."

"Well I don't prefer your face, but we all can't get what we want, now can we." Nick pulled the hammer back. "Sit."

Preston curled a lip but sat and placed his hands on the table.

Nick smiled. "Drink?"

"No."

Nick shrugged.

"I assume you're not here to tell me that I have a ship in the armada," Preston said smoothly. "Tyler wouldn't send his second for such an errand."

"Yeah, hell no." Nick lifted his chin. "I want to know about all the side effects to whatever Epsilon gave Kelly."

Preston quirked a brow. "The hallucinations have started."

Nick didn't answer but he didn't have to. He was pretty sure it was written all over his face.

Preston examined him for a long moment and finally nodded. "Hallucinations, headaches, and nightmares presented anywhere from eighteen to twenty years after the drug was administered."

Nick frowned. "How would they know? Kelly's the only survivor that old."

"Is he?"

"Everyone ported to phase three died."

"Did they?"

A chill rolled over Nick's skin. "How many are there?"

Preston gave an elegant shrug. "Enough. The point is, Epsilon developed a drug to counteract those side-effects. It helped them sleep, dulled the headaches, and gave them greater ability to distinguish between waking nightmares and reality."

"That doesn't sound like a cure."

"That's because it isn't. It's a coping mechanism. The eye drops which gave them their particular set of superpowers also affected their brain chemistry. It's been irrevocably rewritten. Without it, your bedmate will go insane. Simple as that."

Nick gripped his pistol tighter. "Where do I get the drug?"

"What's in it for me?" Preston shot back.

"I don't shoot you in middle of this bar," Nick countered.

"You shoot me and you don't get the drug."

Nick smiled slowly. "It'll just take longer to get, but we both know I'll find it." He leaned forward. "You help me and I tell Captain Grady about your assistance. You know, the captain of the armada you're so keen to get into for protection?"

A muscle on Preston's jaw ticked and his eyes slid away as he considered Nick's words. Nick sat back in his chair and waited. He drank his beer, watching the other man carefully and trying not to think of how he left Kelly curled up in a ball in their bed.

Preston pursed his lips and scowled as he stood. He smoothed his duster and motioned with his chin toward the back of the bar. "Follow me," he said in a clipped, irritated tone.

Nick stood and followed Preston outside into the narrow alleyway. Nick smiled to himself as he thought back to how many times he'd watched Kelly scale alleyways of this nature with minimal effort. He wanted his monkey back, and he'd do anything to accomplish that.

Pain exploded across the back of his head and he pitched forward into Preston, who pivoted out of the way. Nick stumbled and hit the ground, rolling over his shoulder and coming up in a crouch. His stomach dropped to the gravel-strewn ground. "You're alive?"

Smith, or maybe it was Wesson, grinned wide and cracked his meaty knuckles. "In a matter of speaking, O'Flaherty. Got someone who wants to talk to you."

Another massive paw wrapped around Nick's neck from behind him and jerked him to his feet. The other twin hauled Nick against his chest. "You got a lotta freckles."

Nick rolled his eyes and popped one of the slim knives from the sheath on his wrist. He slashed at the hand around his throat but the twin only grunted and punched Nick in the side. Something crunched at the impact and pain screamed across Nick's ribs and drove the breath from his lungs.

"Are you forgetting something?" Preston asked in a low tone. He gestured to each twin. "Automatons. We've found they fight better and do more damage when they can't feel pain." He gestured to the twin behind Nick. "Release him."

Nick fell to the ground with a groan, coughing and gasping for breath, the pain spreading like a bloodstain across his torso. He curled into a ball as a boot slammed into his back. The pain took on its own heartbeat and locked his joints and paralyzed his lungs. His vision blurred around the edges as he groped for his pistol.

"I don't think so," Preston said smoothly.

Rough hands jerked his coat back and took his weapons. One of them ripped the sheaths off his wrists, the leather burning as it raked across his skin.

Preston crouched next to Nick and tilted his head. "Don't worry about your monkey, O'Flaherty. He'll get the new drugs and he'll be right as rain. Exactly as Epsilon intended him to be."

Fear braided with the pain and Nick lashed out. "Don't you fucking _touch_ him."

Preston easily moved out of the way. "That's not for you to decide." He smirked as Nick gasped for breath on the ground. "There's someone who wishes to speak with you."

The twins hauled Nick to his feet. He gritted his teeth as his broken ribs moved, sending waves of pain across his body. Preston grabbed Nick's chin and leaned in close.

"What would your lover do to save your life? What exactly would he give up?"

Nick held Preston's gaze defiantly even as a syringe gun pressed to his neck and delivered a sedative. Darkness closed in around the edges and the earth pulled on his body.

_At least I told him I loved him before I left._


	18. In the Balance

"Are you sure about this?" Zane asked as Ty buckled his belt and checked his pistols.

Ty frowned at the grate in his mechanical shoulder, wiggling his patched fingers and wishing his arm was dent-free and in perfect working order. He shot Zane a grin. "I'll have Eli and Deuce with me."

"You should take Digger, too."

"Smaller group is better." Ty grabbed Zane's wrist and pulled him flush to his chest. "Are you worried about me?"

Zane snorted and rolled his eyes. "More worried about you being reckless."

Ty gasped and clutched his chest. "Me? Reckless?"

"It's your middle name, doll."

"My middle name is actually Tyler." Ty smiled cheekily.

Zane swatted him on the ass and pushed him away. "Your middle name is fucking jackass."

Ty laughed and grabbed Zane's shirt, pulling them back together for a rough kiss that evened out into something sweeter. God, Zane could kiss. Ty could spend the rest of his life kissing Zane and he'd never be happier. "You need to put your mask on, darlin'. I plan on taxing your lungs when I get back."

Zane growled and slid his fingers over Ty's lips. "Go hunt, pirate."

Ty touched two fingers to his brow in a mock salute as he backed away. "Aye aye, captain." He left Zane standing in the middle of their cabin wearing an indulgent smile, but with a hint of worry behind the heat in his dark eyes.

He headed down the length of the main deck, glancing up at Nick and Kelly's cabin. He debated heading up there to check on Kelly but figured Kelly needed rest and Nick needed time alone with him. He'd check when he got back.

"Why am I going again?" Deuce asked as Ty neared him and Eli. "Why don't you take Owen?"

"Owen has an eye patch and is easily recognizable," Ty said as he pulled on his black trench coat.

"You have a clockwork arm," Deuce said, deadpan.

Ty held up his gloved hands, his arms hidden under the black leather of his trench coat. "Do I?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake, quit your bitching and come on." He slung an ornate and intricate-looking shotgun over his shoulders as he vaulted the railing.

"Captain!" Ash ran up. "Any chance I can come?"

Ty shook his head as Deuce climbed over the railing onto the dock, still grumbling in a low tone. "Do me a favor and go check on Irish and Doc in a little bit, okay?"

Ash nodded, his lips pressing together in a thin line. "How long before we send someone after you?"

Ty swung a leg over the railing and threw Ash a cocky grin over his shoulder. "Keep to the code, sailor."

Ash shook his head. "You have six hours. Then I'm telling Zane you've been snitching cake from the galley."

"When I get back, we're going to talk about where your loyalties lie, Lucroix." Ty pointed at him as he backed away from the railing.

Ash waved and jogged off, disappearing into the thin fog that whispered over the ships and their docks.

Ty caught up with the other two and led them to the end of the docks. The lift ride to the ground was a silent affair, Ty's mind churning through names and scenarios. Deuce stared forward, impossible to read. Eli leaned against the wall of the lift and fiddled with his shotgun.

The lift doors opened to the bustle of dock workers, merchants, sailors, and more than a few who looked closer to the mercenary persuasion. An icy wind curled off the water, darting between ships and people, dragging its fingers across exposed skin in the hopes to read goosebumps. Ty pulled his hat a little lower when he caught a few second looks and furrowed brows. There was no mistaking _Airship Sidewinder_ when she pulled into port. Half the city probably knew a bounty had come to ground even before they exited the lift.

Eli rolled his neck and grinned at a merc captain who stopped to watch them. His accompanying wink caused the captain to sneer at him and turn away.

"Stop hitting on mercenaries," Ty said.

Eli chuckled.

"City's in chaos," Deuce said in an undertone.

"What are you picking up?" Ty asked as they left the shipyards and headed down a narrow cobbled lane that ran parallel to the main road into the city.

Deuce tilted his head, staring at seemingly nothing as he listened to the city's radio frequencies. "No one's come forward to claim the automatons yet. Several more groups were sighted around the city. In addition to the summit ball, they attacked several businesses around the city. Seemingly random."

"Get a list. I'll bet it isn't random," Ty said.

"Where to first, boss?" Eli asked as they passed bars and brothels advertising specials themed to the summit.

"Find someone who knows a thing," Ty said.

 Eli frowned at a flyer as they passed. "What the hell would a brothel special be?"

"Two for the price of one?" Deuce asked in a flat tone.

Eli laughed. "Better than half off."

"Oh gross," Ty groaned. "There is something wrong with you two."

"He's a robot. I'm a pirate," Eli said.

Ty gave a long-suffering sigh as they paused at a junction. Straight would take them deeper into the heart of the city. Left wound to the political district. Right went to the business district with the residential district just beyond that. Ty hung a right and took point. The wind whipped through the tall buildings, carrying various scents and sounds of the city. Tingles shot down Ty's spine. "You get a list of those businesses yet?"

"Costume shop. Taxidermy. Two tanneries. A blacksmith." Deuce paused as he listened for a long moment. "Automaton donation center. And a charcuterie."

Ty frowned. "Okay I was with you until the last one."

"Brainsssss," Eli moaned in a ragged voice.

"Yeah because zombies will patron a fine meats shop to get their brains." Ty pulled a pistol off his belt.

Eli laughed as he check his shotgun. "Less chasing? Maybe these ones have more refined tastes."

"Zane did say they were dressed in French Revolution regalia." Deuce slipped a knife from the cuff on his wrist and pulled his hood up.

"This entire conversation is messed up," Ty muttered. "How many?"

"Four on our left. Two on the right. Both groups up high," Deuce answered immediately. "At least three following on the ground."

"Bounty?" Eli asked.

"Does it matter?" Ty glanced at him with a smirk.

Eli grinned widely, his dark eyes taking on a devilish gleam that made Ty really glad the man was on his side.

"Two bots," Deuce said. "Ahead of us. They seem familiar."

Ty scanned the storefronts to either side of them. One was a tailor--closed for the day--and the other was a chocolatier. He rolled his eyes. "Why are we never hemmed in around an ammunitions shop? I'd even settle for a butcher."

Eli chambered a round. "You saying you need help to take down some bad guys, captain?"

Ty flipped him off and spun away, firing up and to the right, nailing one of their stalkers in the shoulder. A man yelled. Eli's shotgun boomed, answered by a string of curses from the other side of the alley. Deuce melted into the shadows, waiting for their tails to pass. Pacifist by programming, Deuce was deadly with a blade by pure necessity. Over the gunfire, the chilled wind carried screams from behind them.

Pain seared across his arm, hot and sharp, and a bullet struck the wall next to him. Ty growled and spun around, barely ducking the fist that grazed his jaw. He lurched to the side and brought up his pistol. His attacker grabbed his wrist and twisted it sharply. Ty smiled as the inner mechanisms of his arm went with the twist, rotating nearly 180 degrees. "Clockwork arm, motherfucker." And fired the pistol into the man's ribs at point blank range. He kicked the man in the chest and pushed off the wall, his blood hot and his arm throbbing. The man fell into a crumpled heap, his head lolling back and red spreading across his side.

Ty froze at the fleur-de-lis tattoo on the man's neck and a _42_ underneath. His stomach rolled. "Where is he?" he snarled at the man. He grabbed the guy's shirtfront and pulled. The assassin's eyes rolled around, blood trickling from his mouth. "Where the fuck is the Baron? Where's Bell?"

More gunfire. More yelling.

Two more breaths.

Stillness under his hands.

Ty yelled a string of curses and let go. He straightened to the barrel of a gun four feet away and a finger squeezing the trigger. A body thudded into his as several explosions seemed to come from all sides at once. The world washed white and morphed into a high-pitched whine that carved deep into his brain and scraped across his bones. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, something heavy draped across him. Something cold seeped into his back.

Then the pain rolled over his body.

Pain. So much pain. His arm. His head. His chest. Parts of his back. His leg. Oh gods, if he'd lost another limb he might actually lay here on the cold cobblestones and cry.

"Ty!" A hazy silhouette blotted out the whiteness, the voice muffled.

"Deuce?" he croaked. His voice sounded far away, like a distant rumble. "Hurts."

"I know. Hang on, bro. You and Eli were hit. Just lay still..."

"What happened?"

"Shrapnel bomb. Far enough away to not kill you, but close enough to do damage."

"No shit," Ty hissed.

Deuce looked around, his face grim. "Actually we need to get back to the ship. The bots, Ty, the bots were Smith and Wesson. They vanished."

Ty's brain tried to make sense of the words coming out of Deuce's mouth, but everything just echoed with the pain pulsing through his body. "Where's Eli?" Ty tried to move and cried out when pain jolted up his leg.

"Fucking hell, Tyler, stay still."

"Stay still or get back to the ship. Make up your goddamn robotic mind," Ty snapped. "Where the fuck is Eli?"

"He's here. He's out." Deuce frowned. "He's hurt bad, Ty."

"How bad?" Dread curled in Ty's stomach, pushing away even the pain.

"We need to get to the ship. I can carry him. But you have to walk, and we have to leave now to save him."

"I think my leg's broken."

"No, you have a fuckton of shrapnel embedded in it, but it's not broken." He slid an arm under Ty's neck and helped him sit up. Ty clutched at Deuce while he stood, gasping at the lightning bolts of pain zapping up and down his leg. He nodded and pushed Deuce away. "I got it," he gasped.

Deuce nodded and squatted to pick up Eli, who was unconscious. Ty's heart plummeted into his stomach when he saw the blood. "Oh gods..."

"Ty, come on," Deuce grunted. He glanced around furtively. "More coming from the south."

"Fuck," Ty hissed and limped after Deuce, gritting his teeth against the pain and willing his leg to carry his weight long enough to collapse on the main deck of his ship.

By the time they reached the ship and called out for help, Ty couldn't stand and Eli wasn't breathing.


	19. Don't Shoot the Messenger

Kelly jolted into consciousness, his heart slamming against his ribs and his muscles wrapped in the paralyzing feeling of falling through space. He gasped and flailed, groaning as pain sliced through the panic, yanking him into reality with a sudden slam to the soft bed. He gripped the bed sheets in an effort to truly ground himself as he sucked air into frenzied lungs. Breath by breath, his awareness calmed into something less impending doom and more familiar stability.

"That was impressive," a quiet voice drifted over him, a teasing tone from the past.

Kelly swallowed and cracked one eye open, focusing on the figure leaning against the wall. "Even if you're a figment of my imagination, it's still creepy to watch someone sleep."

Cameron smiled sadly. "I used to watch you sleep all the time. To make sure you woke up again."

"Yeah." Kelly sat up slowly, wincing at the pain that shot down the back of his neck, and sighed at Cameron. He realized he had two choices here: yell for help and pray someone else saw Cameron too, or simply accept that something in his brain was severely broken and just roll with it.

He didn't have the energy for the first option so he grudgingly accepted the second.

Brilliant blue eyes watched him curiously. "You look like shit."

Kelly snorted and rubbed his face, trying to get the blood flowing enough to maybe drive away the headache. "I'd like to see you go through an explosion and see if you come out looking like a runway model."

No answer.

Kelly looked up, yelping when he saw Cameron sitting on the edge of the bed _right there._ "Fuck! Don't...do that."

"Sorry," Cameron said quietly. He looked away, his chastised expression so familiar it made Kelly's heart hurt.

"Cam..." Kelly sighed and glanced around for any medicine. His head was pounding so hard, he was amazed his eyeballs were still in their sockets and his skull was intact. No syringes. No bottles. He groaned as he considered the trek to the infirmary.

"Are you in pain?" Cameron asked.

Kelly nodded as he met Cameron's familiar blue gaze again. "Why are you here?"

Cameron gave him a tiny shrug. "Are you in pain?"

"Yeah. Head hurts."

"Migraines?"

Kelly frowned slightly. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Nightmares?"

Kelly straightened. "Yeah."

Another sad smile. "That explains why I'm here. You've lasted long enough to experience side effects."

"Side effects," Kelly repeated.

"From the drugs they gave us." Cameron pointed to his glowing eyes. "Your lover knows about them. He was told. So do your captains."

"Bullshit. Nick would've told me." Something heavy and sick curled in Kelly's gut as he thought back over the concerned expressions Nick, Ty, and Zane had worn recently.

"Would he?" Cameron asked, still wearing the same sad and curious expression on his face. For some reason, it made shivers skitter down Kelly's spine. He desperately wanted to see Cameron's smile. That smile pulled Kelly through a lot of dark hours when all he wanted to do was give up.

"He would," Kelly said confidently. He groaned as pain slammed against the backs of his eyes.

"You should sleep."

"No." Kelly shook his head, which was a mistake. "I've been sleeping for the past day it feels like."

"You're hurt, string bean," Cameron said.

Kelly laughed softly. "String bean. Haven't heard that in years."

"It doesn't really fit you anymore either."

Kelly managed a grin at Cameron, who returned it with a soft smile of his own. It wasn't the beaming grin of their youth but it was enough to warm Kelly's chest. He licked his lips. "How long did you...before you..."

"A while," Cameron answered as if he'd anticipated exactly what Kelly was asking.

"Of course you would say that. My own brain would want you to have been okay," Kelly muttered as he rubbed his temples.

"You seem confused."

"Yeah and the sky seems blue."

Cameron barked a laugh, the sound jolting through Kelly, pulling memories out of his marrow and running them down his veins in full color and sound. Kelly stared at him, knowing he shouldn't be gleaning this much comfort from the very hallucination that proved his brain was fracturing. But Cameron was the one part of his past where warmth took hold. His friendship with Cameron was the only good thing to happen in that horrible place. Even though none of this was real, Kelly clung to this twisted second chance he'd been given.

"I'm sorry," he blurted.

Cameron's smile slipped. "For what?"

"For not coming back. For leaving you there. I couldn't get help. I tried, Cam, I tried so hard to get help. And then I met Nick and Ty and they were the first people since you to be nice to me and I..." his breathless ramble of an excuse trailed off with a shrug. "I got scared they would think I was crazy. Or would try to get money for me."

Cameron sat on the edge of the bed unmoving, face impassive as he listened. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. Don't tell me that because you're up here," Kelly tapped his temple, "and not actually real. I don't get to really apologize to you. So I'm making do with the part of my brain that's putting you here in this room. Just...let me do that?"

Cameron pressed his lips together and nodded. "Phase three killed many kids. You were lucky to get out when you did."

Kelly squeezed his eyes shut against the stinging and the weight of guilt. "I'm so sorry."

"You got out, string bean. You escaped. No one can fault you for that."

"I made you a promise." Kelly stared at his hands. Stared at the hints of scars peeking out from the cuffs around his wrists.

"I know," Cameron said softly. "I made you the same promise if I got out."

Another shiver rolled down Kelly's spine. He looked up to see the same soft smile and sad eyes. "Cam--"

A crash and several shouts from the main deck pulled Kelly's attention. The comm crackled on. "Doc!" Zane shouted. "Get down here now!"

Kelly scrambled off the bed, ignoring the pain in his stiff joints and bruised body. He shoved his feet into boots, slipped a shirt over his head, and was halfway to opening the door before he remembered Cameron. He turned around. "I'll be--"

Nothing. An empty and yawning emptiness of a room stared back at him.

Kelly blew out a breath, grabbed his sunglasses from the shelf by the door, and headed out of the cabin.

===

Ash's stomach dropped when he rounded the corner and saw the commotion on the deck. Deuce brushed past him roughly, carrying an unconscious Eli. Zane knelt on the deck next to Ty, who lay on the cold wood with his face contorted in pain. Zane was examining Ty's leg, which was a mass of shredded cloth and blood. Ty bowed off the deck with a hoarse cry and bit his fist. Zane motioned to Digger for help and, together, the two men lifted Ty and carried him toward the infirmary.

"What happened?" Ash asked Owen.

"They were attacked," Owen said. "It was bad."

Ash jogged to the infirmary, his heart in his throat. He pulled up short when he saw Kelly standing in the doorway of the infirmary, pale and confused. "Kelly?"

Kelly frowned. "Where's Nick?"

Zane drew up straight. "Doc, we need you over here."

"Nick, where's Nick?" Kelly asked again, his voice more insistent.

"He wasn't with us." Deuce said as he cut open Elias' shirt.

"I thought he was with you." Kelly pulled in a sharp breath. "I thought...Where is he?"

Ash grabbed Kelly's shoulders. "Look at me. He probably went to fetch supplies, _like he does_. We'll find Nick later. Right now, Eli and Ty need you." He squeezed Kelly's shoulders. "What do you need me to do?"

Kelly blinked quickly behind his glasses, a sense of focus hardening his face. "Gloves. Syringe guns. Sedative. Morphine if we have it."

"If we have it?" Ty cried hoarsely from the bed.

"You're not helping, doll," Zane said.

Zane stayed by Ty's bedside. Digger stayed by Elias'. Ash, Deuce, and Owen helped Kelly, keeping him focused, fetching supplies. At some point, Digger and Owen cleared out to keep watch while Kelly kept working on Elias. Ash noticed Kelly's eyes darting more than once to the doorway as if he expected Nick at any moment. No one had heard from him, and he definitely wasn't on the ship.

"Is he going to make it?" Zane asked quietly as Kelly finished stitching the final open wound on Elias' body.

Kelly pressed his lips together and shrugged. "He's fighting. I'm doing all I can." He stripped his gloves off and threw them in a bin, rubbing the back of his neck and blowing out a long breath. "It'd be better if we could find a hospital who knows us."

Zane nodded as he watched Ty sleep. They'd pulled all the shrapnel out of his leg and stitched the larger wounds closed. From hip to ankle, his leg resembled a sieve. It was a miracle he hadn't bled to death. He'd be fine eventually. Kelly had perfected a sedative over the years that would keep him under with minimal side effects.

Minimal.

Elias was another issue entirely. He'd been closer to the blast. And it wasn't pretty. Kelly's main concern was blood loss and a major concussion, but he didn't have the equipment to look at Eli's brain. The frustration etched itself all over his face.

Ash squeezed his arm. "Hey, you did good."

Kelly shot him a tired smile. "Have they found Nick yet?"

"I'll go check." Ash exchanged a concerned glance with Zane and headed out of the infirmary. Worry and exhaustion pulled at his limbs. He'd been so focused on helping Kelly keep Elias alive, the resulting energy crash made him feel like he'd run a marathon. He spun one of his rings around his thumb as he headed for the main deck. He turned the corner just in time to see Digger and Owen draw their pistols and point them at the mist-hidden dock. "What the hell?"

"We got a visitor," Owen said over his shoulder. "Go get Zane."

Ash slipped a knife from his belt and held it parallel to his forearm as he headed back to the infirmary. "Captain. Visitor."

"Friendly?" Zane asked as he moved to the doorway.

Ash shrugged. "Owen and Digger have their guns pointed at them so it's probably doubtful."

"Nick?" Kelly asked, his voice somewhere between exhaustion and hopefulness.

Ash shook his head. "I didn't see him. Didn't get a chance to ask."

Zane frowned as he strapped his mask on. He glanced at Deuce and Kelly then headed out of the infirmary. Ash couldn't think of anything to say to reassure Kelly or add to the already somber atmosphere in the infirmary so he followed his captain, trotting after the man's long stride like a puppy.

"Captain on deck!" Ash shouted as they rounded the corner. He raised his eyebrows at the man standing on the docks. At first glance, he thought maybe the guy was Zane's long lost brother.

"Message for the captain," the man said in a hard voice. Ash couldn't place his accent but the gravel sent shivers up and down his spine. He gripped his knife tighter.

"Who are you?" Zane stopped a few feet away from the railing and folded his arms, his broad build and straight spine casting an impressive shadow.

"You can call me Cross. You're Garrett?"

Zane inclined his head. "Who's your message from?"

"That's none of your concern. All my employer wishes you to know is that your First Mate is currently enjoying one of his finest cells."

Ash's blood ran cold. "Nick?' he whispered.

Zane's expression stayed blank. He didn't even flinch. "Proof?"

Cross smiled and tossed a leather bundle over the railing. It thudded to the worn wooden planks and unrolled slightly.

"That's Nick's coat," Kelly's voice drifted across the deck. "That's Nick's coat." He stalked forward and snarled, "What the fuck have you done with him?"

Ash intercepted his friend and wrapped him up in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides and praying he wasn't hurting Kelly further as he held on tight. Kelly struggled and shouted. "Where's Nick? Where is he? I swear to every deity in every world I will _end you_ if you've hurt him."

Cross simply smiled as if Kelly amused him. A bit of entertainment. "I'm here to propose a trade."

Zane's eyebrow twitched. "Oh?"

"One for one." Cross pointed at Kelly. "Your man for him." Cross's dark eyes fixed on Kelly. "His life for yours."

Kelly stopped struggling, his breath coming out in pants. Ash didn't let go, however. After being put on his ass more times than he ever wanted to admit in sparring matches, he knew better than to believe Kelly had really given up.

"You have twenty-four hours to decide. Meet at the cathedral in the middle of the city. If not, we'll hang his body from the belfry, and we'll come for you anyway." Cross spoke as if he were merely discussing the weather or the events at a sporting match.

Kelly shuddered. "Let me go," he growled.

"No," Ash said even though he desperately wanted to. "You hurt this guy or, even better, kill him, then you've lost Nick. Think, Abbott."

Kelly didn't answer. He positively vibrated in Ash's arms.

Zane stared Cross down. "See you in twenty-four hours."

Cross inclined his head and disappeared into the mist.

Zane turned to Owen and Digger. "You two. I want you to hunt down any of those fucking zombie automatons and bring me one. We need information." He spun away from them and leveled a look at Kelly. "We're going to get him back."

Kelly didn't answer. He was still staring at the dock and the swirling mist.

"Kelly," Zane said in a softer tone. "I need you to take care of Ty and Eli until we can get them to a hospital."

"Ty won't go to a hospital," Kelly said without looking away from the dock. "Give him a brace, and he can walk."

Zane snorted. "You're right. But we need to get Eli to one."

Kelly nodded. He finally tore his gaze away from the dock. "I'm not sprinting after the guy, if that's why you're still restraining me."

Ash huffed and let go, stepping back. Kelly looked at him, his face etched from stone. "Thanks," he said in a clipped tone before heading to the infirmary.

Zane watched him go, his brows knit and his eyes dark. A cold wind sluiced over the deck, piercing their clothes and sending shivers down their bones. "He's not okay," Zane said quietly after a long moment.

"No shit, captain," Ash muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "What do we do?"

Zane picked up Nick's coat from the deck, folding it neatly and draping it over his arm with precise movements. "We get Nick back and hang whoever took him from the cathedral belfry."


	20. To Have and To Hold

_Morocco: Seven years ago._

"We should get married."

Nick leaned over the edge of the roof, holding an arm out for Kelly to take. "Rather odd time to be having this conversation, Kels."

Kelly grabbed Nick's arm and used it for leverage as he climbed the side of the building, his bare feet finding toeholds. He glanced over his shoulder to check their pursuers' progress and grinned up at Nick as he grabbed the edge and hauled himself the rest of the way up. He rolled over the edge and came up in a crouch. "You didn't say no, though." He kissed Nick quickly then grabbed his arm. "Come on. They're a block away."

Nick blinked rapidly as Kelly jogged across the roof, checking over the edge then judging the distance to the other building. He was used to Kelly coming up with odd conversation topics when they were running for their lives. _Do you ever wonder what birds think of airships? I mean do they see an airship like we would see dragons? Oh! Do you think dragons exist? I think dragons exist. Hey, have you ever noticed there's something like eight hundred different shades of green? At least that's about how many I've counted in your eyes. Why is chocolate called chocolate? I mean, it's made from cocoa beans, right? Why don't we call it like cocoa blocks or something?_

But _we should get married_ was, by far, the most out of left field conversation topic.

"Why do you want to get married?" Nick met Kelly at the edge and checked his pistol.

"Why not?" Kelly backed up a few paces, bounced on his toes and ran for the edge, pushing off and hitting the neighboring roof in a roll.

"We live on a ship!" Nick called after him.

"Yeah, but it's like..." Kelly brushed himself off and adjusted his glasses. "Official and shit."

"That's really fucking romantic." Nick stowed his pistol and backed away from the edge, planting his right foot. He pushed off at a full run right as the door to the roof banged open and a gun fired. Pain seared across his arm as he jumped, clawing at the hot air as he arced into empty space.

He slammed into the side of the building, clutching at the edge, heat and pain rolling through his left arm as he struggled for purchase.

"Nick!" Kelly grabbed Nick's wrist, his fingers digging into Nick's skin and sliding over the dark lines and dots of his age tattoo. Bullets smacked the wall next to Nick's head. He growled in response, hanging onto Kelly and pulling his pistol with his other hand.

"Yeah, sure I'll hold you up," Kelly grunted.

Nick fired at the other building, causing their pursuers to duck. He used the time to scramble up and over the edge. "I thought you said they were a block behind?" He gasped as he lay on his back out of sight. He glared at Kelly, who crouched next to him checking the graze on his arm.

Kelly leaned over and kissed him quickly. "They had friends?" He pulled the rip in Nick's shirt apart and frowned at the gash. "Not too deep. You'll live."

"That's comforting," Nick grumbled. He hissed as Kelly tied a handkerchief around his arm. "Where do you get these frilly things?"

"Your mama," Kelly drawled. "Seriously, though, we should get married."

Nick huffed a laugh as he rolled up to a crouch. "Why are you stuck on this?"

Kelly shrugged and looked away. "No reason."

Nick frowned. "Kels, we've been together five years. I think we're pretty much married already."

Kelly laughed and raised his eyebrows as one of their pursuers came flying across the gap. Nick pulled out his pistol and grabbed Kelly's neck. He kissed him messy and hard, nipping at his lower lip as he fired out of the corner of his eye. Kelly laughed against his mouth. "We can talk about it later."

Nick studied his face, his mind churning and trying to find out why Kelly wanted to talk about this _now_. It wasn't like they were in particularly life-threatening danger. They'd been in worse jams and Kelly had wanted to talk about the difference between cake and cupcakes. "You really want this."

Kelly nodded, his gaze darting over Nick's shoulder to check for more interruptions. "I can't explain it. I just do. I love you."

Confusion rolled through Nick, but so did amusement. Amusement at his boyfriend's ability to get easily distracted or be singularly fixated on something entirely random. Nick loved him. Loved him so much, he couldn't imagine life without him. And he knew how sappy that sounded, but he didn't care. He'd give Kelly anything within his power. That's a promise he'd made a long time ago. A promise Kelly shared as well.

He had a feeling he knew the reasoning behind Kelly's request. Permanence. A sense of stability even if it was simply words alone. And, after the life Kelly'd had, Nick couldn't blame him for wanting it.

Another two people cleared the gap and rolled to a crouch, their faces contorted into scowls that deepened when they saw the body of their comrade.

Nick rose to his full height and extended his pistol. "Okay."

Kelly rolled his neck and shook his hands out as he eyed the guy on the left. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Nick aimed and fired. "Let's get married."

===

_Unknown location: Present Day_

Nick had no idea why that particular memory played on a continuous loop in his head as he lay on the cold cement floor with his forearm over his eyes. Something happy to distract from the pain in his side and the pounding ache in his skull, perhaps. Reality ebbed and flowed around him, time slipping in and out of focus the longer he lay there. The hunger that'd gnawed at him some time ago finally settled into a dull emptiness in his belly. He fought sleep for as long as he could, but the residual sedative plus the hunger and pain in his body overruled him on several occasions and he drifted somewhere between reality and unconsciousness.

His waking dreams were of Kelly, wavering hallucinations that parkoured around his brain. Real memories braided with creations of his own imagination. Somewhere amidst all the mental chaos, he wondered if he was having an allergic reaction to the sedative. Or if the drug had been more than merely a sedative.

"Hello, Nicholas."

Nick cracked an eye open and moved his arm enough to see the dim and bland cement cell he'd been tossed into. A man stood by the door, his face just barely visible in the light shed by the bare bulb far overhead. "I was wondering when you'd show your face."

The Baron's smile would have been almost pleasant under any other circumstance. "You look a little rough, love."

"And you look a little alive." Nick didn't bother to get up. His ribs hurt every time he moved and he had a feeling he knew what was coming.

"I do apologize for my little deception, but it was too great a risk for me to be on that ship. I could have died."

"How do I know there's even a real Baron anymore? You could be just another clockwork copy."

The Baron hummed. "True. I suppose the only way to prove it to you would be at great injury to my person and I'm rather adverse to that."

Nick snorted. "Of course you are."

He heard the scuff of a boot right before hands grabbed his arms and hauled him off the floor. Pain shot through his side and his head swam at the sudden elevation change. He couldn't swallow the groan in time as he sagged in the twins' grip. He blinked rapidly and pulled musty air in through his nose, trying to get ahead of the buzzing in his ears and the tipping of the room.

The Baron strolled closer, pulling a pair of white gloves off long-fingered hands. "You've met my minions, of course." He waved a hand behind him were two clockwork zombies stood in the doorway, their withered, sagging skin barely held on their frames with black stitching.

"Briefly," Nick said. "What do you want, Liam?"

"Your crew dead, your ship destroyed, and ruling control of the commonwealth." Liam rattled off the list as if they were merely discussing rising electricity prices on the ground. "Well...nearly all of your crew dead."

"What the fuck do you want with me?" Nick growled.

The Baron's smile widened, the chill of it sending ice down Nick's spine. "Oh, darling, don't flatter yourself. You're what's known as leverage."

Another figure stepped into the doorway. "Message delivered, sir."

Nick's stomach dropped to the dirty floor. "Preston."

Preston inclined his head once. "O'Flaherty."

Nick pulled against the twins' grasp, anger slamming into him hard and fast. _Kelly._ "What have you done?"

"Not what we've done, dear boy," Liam purred. "What we're going to do. Your lover is a valuable commodity. Extremely rare. Extremely powerful. He just needs...motivation...to come help us."

Tingles rolled over Nick's body. "Kelly would never join you. And he's sick. He's of no use to you."

"Is he?" Preston asked in an easy tone.

Nick stared at Preston for an eternal moment, the horror of a new reality crashing around him, mixing with the pain and whatever drug still coursed through his system and making him light-headed. "There aren't any side effects," he whispered hoarsely.

The corner of Preston's mouth ticked up. "None."

Nick swallowed, his heart thudding in his ears. "The person he's been hallucinating...Cameron."

No one answered but no one had to. Liam backed away a few steps. "Plant a few suggestions. Nurture it along with help. Anyone will believe anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a summit to conquer. I'll leave you to become reacquainted with Smith and Wesson."

Nick ground his back molars so hard they ached. His voice came out low and deadly. "I'm going to kill you."

Liam's smile softened, a glint appearing in his bright eyes. "I very much look forward to your attempt, Nicholas." His gaze flicked to the twins flanking Nick. "Since you're our guest for a short time, the twins would like to show you their particular brand of hospitality. Don't kill him, boys, I do need him alive."

Nick stood rigid as Liam, Preston, and the two clockwork zombies left the cell. The clunk of the lock echoed through the tiny room as one twin released him and stepped forward, curling his big hands into fists. The other twin grabbed Nick's arms and twisted them behind his back so hard, his shoulders screamed in protest. He maintained his glare even as the twin drew his fist back and aimed for Nick's face.

The first punch didn't knock him out.

The seventh one did.


	21. The Inner Workings

Deuce grimaced at the body laid out on the table. "I am so glad I can't smell."

Zane adjusted his mask. "I'm glad this has filters. Don't tell Nick we used his workshop for this."

"Yeah, I'd like to stay intact." Deuce rolled up his sleeves and secured them with metal garters around his biceps then frowned at the zombie automaton stretched out before him. "This is really disgusting. And I'm a robot."

Zane huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

Owen and Digger had returned with one automaton. They claimed they killed many more but Digger's propensity for all things exploding had rendered most of the others in too many pieces to salvage. As it was, this one was missing a hand and the opposite foot. Once they had the clothing off and in a corner to be burned later, the body underneath didn't look like something that should even be able to move around on its own. The skin stretched tight in places, sagged loose in others. Black stitches wound through the body, turning into a horror prop of an extraordinarily grotesque variety.

Deuce pulled on a pair of gloves and grabbed a set of magnifying goggles. "Where do you want to start?"

Zane grabbed a pair of gloves, his dark eyes darting up and down the body. "We need to get at the mechanisms." He nudged a large bucket over with his boot. "Peel it."

"I'm not paid enough for this," Deuce grumbled as he situated the magnifiers and started snipping open the thick black stitches holding the skin together over its bare forearm.

They worked steadily for over an hour, carefully removing the outer skin layer. The thread seemed to be thick, black cording more commonly used for rough leatherwork. The skin itself came in various shades and stages of decay - everything from soft and pliable to hard and leathery. Deuce kept track of how many different types were sewn together to cover this body and came up with anywhere from five to eight different bodies. The math added up to mass grave robbings if there really was an unending supply of these creatures. The entire endeavor was thoroughly revolting, even for an automaton like him.

"Just when I think it couldn't get any more bizarre," Zane muttered as he picked up one of the arms by the wrist. Human bones held together with braids of wire and toothy pivot joints jangled as he lifted. Three fingers fell off and clattered to the table.

Deuce made a face. "Or gross."

Lines appeared between Zane's brows as he pried the copper elbow joint free. Exposed gears squeaked slightly as the mechanism rotated. "This look familiar to you?" He held it out to Deuce.

Deuce plucked it from Zane's grasp and held it up to the magnifier. "Yeah, actually." He grabbed a rag from a nearby table and started cleaning filth he didn't want to identify off of it. "Check the skull cavity. Tell me about the set up." He turned away from the body, grabbing a stool and sitting at a high table with more light. He hunted through a box of tools until he found a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

"You really want me to look at its brain," Zane asked, deadpan.

"I highly doubt there's an actual human brain in there, Garrett. Suck it up." Deuce pried apart two gears, revealing a slim piece of metal sandwiched between the two pieces. "Aha, you little asshole."

"Excuse me?" Zane growled.

"Not you." Deuce stood and held up the piece. "If I'm right, there's another one of these in the brain mechanism, one in the other elbow, and one in each knee."

"What are they?" Zane glared at the skull for a long moment before flipping open one of his knives and prying open one of the plates. The weakened bone gave away easily with a crackling noise as the edges disintegrated under the pressure.

"Signature tokens. Android makers put their signature somewhere in the body in a hidden place. To anyone who doesn't know, this is just a piece of metal to give the gears some space."

"But you know about them." Zane reached in and pulled out an oddly shaped grouping of gears and wires. He held it out to Deuce.

"I've seen this one before." Deuce took the brain mechanism to the table and flipped it over a few times, squinting at the underside. "Yep, there it is. And best news?" He set the mechanism on the desk. "He lives here."

Zane raised his eyebrows. "Makes sense. Construct them and release them in the same city. Saves on shipping. Who is he and how do you know him?"

Deuce peeled off his gloves. "His name's Wyatt. He helped me rebuild my arm after that accident a few years back. Nice guy. A bit skittish."

"Why would he build these for the Baron?" Zane peeled off his gloves and tossed them in the bucket with the skin.

Deuce frowned. "I have no idea. Wyatt doesn't take sides usually, but he has enough money that he wouldn't need to take a job like this to get by."

"You think the Baron threatened him with something?"

"That's as good a guess as any."

Zane folded his arms and stared at the body for a long time. Faint sounds of the ship filtered down to the shop. Everyone was on edge since Cross showed up with the threat on Nick's life. Ty'd insisted on getting out of bed, demanding a brace so he could actually stand. Now he limped across the deck, barking orders and yelling at anyone who looked at him sideways.

Kelly had disappeared to the infirmary to take care of Eli and hadn't been seen since. Deuce didn't need to be around the man to know he wasn't in a good place. Nick and Kelly had been inseparable since youth. From what he'd heard, Nick had gone into a scary calm when Kelly had been taken by the Baron last year. Deuce reasoned the only reason why Kelly was still on board was to take care of Eli. If he could he'd be gone, tearing the world apart in search of his lover.

Even though his insides were machine instead of bone and sinew, Deuce had an inkling of the loss Kelly felt. A year ago, when the explosion in his shop took Livi from him, Deuce had felt as though his systems were malfunctioning. His processes lagged. He found himself not inclined to fine-tune anything about himself and tuned out surrounding conversation. It was as close to the sadness of loss as an automaton such as himself could achieve. He imagined it was worse for flesh and blood humans with their volatile emotions.

Zane blew out a harsh breath. "I'll go talk to Ty. Then you and I will probably go find this Wyatt, if he's still around."

Deuce nodded and stared at the mangled skeleton stretching across the table as Zane left the workshop. He dragged a hand over his face and started trying to clean up so Nick wouldn't be upset they used his space.

Because Nick would come home. He had to.

===

Zane had walked all of four steps across the main deck before Kelly stepped into his path. The man's face was pale and hard. The murderous look in Kelly's bright eyes sent shivers down Zane's spine.

"Well? What's happening?" Kelly's voice came out clipped and rushed, as if he was wasting time by just speaking words instead of plowing through the city looking for Nick.

"Deuce and I dissected one of the zombies. He recognizes the handiwork so we're probably going to go hunt the guy down for a chat." Zane made to bypass Kelly but Kelly stepped in front of him again.

"And that rescues Nick how?" Kelly curled his hands into fists. A muscle on his jaw feathered.

Zane examined him for a long moment, his gaze finally setting on the angry stitches along Kelly's temple. "You should be resting."

"Nick is out there," Kelly hissed.

"And Eli is injured," Zane countered. "Nick is a member of this crew and we protect our own. We came after you and Ty a year ago and we'll do the same now for Nick. You know this."

Kelly's throat bobbed as he swallowed and looked away, his nostrils flaring. Sweat beaded his hairline, his injuries standing out in harsh contrast to his pale skin.

"Kelly," Zane said quietly. He set his hand on the man's shoulder.

Kelly brushed Zane's hand off and walked away, his back straight and his shoulders set. Zane frowned when he noticed the boots on Kelly's feet. He glanced around and saw Ash perched on top of the navigation deck, his eyebrows raised at them. Zane motioned him over.

"Keep an eye on him," Zane said when Ash joined him.

"He's just upset. He won't--"

"He's wearing shoes, Lucroix." Zane gave him a hard look.

Ash blew out a breath and nodded. "Aye, Captain."

Zane nodded at him and headed toward their quarters at the rear of the ship, following the lilting sounds of Ty's growling. The fog had rolled back from the docks, the mist cut away by the warmth of the risen sun. Ships made port. Sailors and soldiers added their voices to the salty air. Anticipation and anxiousness bathed not only his ship but most of the city, it felt like. His joints buzzed, the muscles in his legs pulling and moving with the need to be prepared. His fingers itched to curl around knives.

He found Ty on the upper deck of their private quarters. The man paced, the brace around his leg restricting his knee and giving him a significant limp. His coat billowed behind him as he moved, his stance and expression hard and angry.

"Deuce may know who built the mechanics for the zombies," Zane said without preamble.

Ty nodded once. "You going?"

"Yeah. Wanted to let you know." Zane watched Ty pace. "Ty."

"He's my best friend, Zane. I have so few memories of my life before he was in it. If something happens to him..." Ty's step faltered and the anger cracked, giving way to anguish and genuine fear.

Zane stepped forward and grabbed the back of Ty's neck, kneading the muscles as he pulled Ty in for an embrace. "We'll get him back," Zane murmured.

"Then I vote we head to that house your daddy gave you," Ty muttered as he pulled away.

Zane chuckled. "I like that plan."

Ty looked out over the city, his hazel eyes catching the sun and turning gold. "When this is over, we disappear for good this time. Tell the men they can leave if they want to, but we're gone." He pulled in a shaky breath. "I'm done being a pirate."

"I think you'll find most of them share the sentiment, baby." Zane drifted his fingers down Ty's cheek. Ty turned his face and pressed his lips to Zane's palm.

"Be careful," Ty warned. "Tell Deuce he has to actually carry a gun this time."

"I will." Zane pulled his mask off so he could kiss Ty softly. "We'll get him back before the deadline, or we'll burn down the city trying."

Ty met his gaze evenly, his eyes hard and his lips pressed together into a knife-thin line. He nodded jerkily then spun away, resuming his pacing.

Zane watched him, searing the image of Ty to his mind. The way the sun caught his hair and his eyes. The way the breeze plucked at his coat. The imposing figure he cut as he paced the deck. His chest ached as he turned away and headed back down to the main deck where Deuce was waiting for him.

Deuce glanced over Zane's shoulder at the private deck then met Zane's eyes briefly. He said nothing and hopped over the railing onto the dock, his boots hitting the metal with a resounding clang that split the air like a gunshot.

Zane slipped his mask back on and followed.


	22. The Voices Give Advice Now

Kelly paced in the infirmary, his boots thudding the worn wooden floor in a steady rhythm. Every step drove vibrations through his legs and up his back. His body ached. His head pounded. Every shadow caught in his peripheral vision made him pause. He wasn't sure if the voices he heard were the men on the rest of the ship or figments of his broken brain.

_Nick was gone. Taken._

Fear and anger rolled through Kelly in never-ending waves. It'd been an hour since Zane and Deuce left to go see the zombie maker. Digger and Owen had visited Elias a half hour ago, but Kelly knew it was partly to check on him as well. No one mentioned Nick, but Owen gave him a shoulder squeeze when he left.

Then he was alone again.

Kelly checked and double-checked Eli's status, satisfied there was absolutely nothing more he could do for the man. He almost wished there _was_ something he could stitch or bandage. Something he could use to keep his mind from spiraling off into the ether. Without something to do, his thoughts strayed back to Nick. Even that was hard to focus on, though. His head splintered along the fault lines in his skull. He almost felt drunk and idly wondered when the last time he ate was.

"He'll pull through," Cameron said softly.

Kelly didn't even startle this time. He glanced at Cameron then back at his friend and shipmate, an aching sadness welling up in his chest. "He'd better. The soul of Sidewinder will die without him."

"You're a good doc, String Bean," Cameron said.

Kelly gave him a weak smile and a nod. "Thanks."

Cameron moved around the infirmary, his footsteps silent, his hands shoved in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. He'd always been tall and lanky for his age and had compensated by curling inward in a feeble attempt to seem smaller. "What are you doing about Nick?"

Kelly swallowed hard and blew out a shaky breath. "Zane and Deuce went to talk to some dude. I don't...I don't know."

Cameron raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're staying here?"

Kelly gestured at Eli.

Cameron tilted his head. "You said there's nothing more you can do for him. He pulls through or he dies. Can you influence it either way anymore?"

Kelly chewed his lower lip and shook his head. He shoved his hands through his hair. "I'm sure they'll come up with a plan. Right?"

Cameron gave him a lazy shrug. "You know them better than I do."

Kelly pulled himself up on an empty bed and rubbed his hands on his thighs. Nervous energy jolted through him, speeding through his veins. Every heartbeat felt like a cannon blast against his ribcage.

Cameron stood at the end of the bed, watching him impassively. "What if you did the exchange?"

Kelly frowned. "What?"

"Well, it's the one place you're guaranteed to be in the same spot with Nick right?" He chewed his lower lip as though he wasn't entirely sure he had the right to comment. "It's better than searching the city. I mean, at least it seems that way to me."

Kelly huffed a laugh. "Of course my hallucinations would give voice to what I was already thinking."

Cameron smiled sadly. "I feel like I should apologize for that."

"Nah." Kelly swung his legs. "As far as hallucinations from my past are concerned, you're the best I could have."

Cameron didn't reply. He simply watched Kelly for a long while, waiting patiently.

Kelly's gaze fell on Eli. Linen and gauze wound around his arm and his head. Wires attached him to machinery on the wall that ticked and tocked. The man's chest rose and fell in even breaths thanks to a respirator Nick had built Kelly a few years ago. _Nick._ "I can have Ash keep an eye on him."

"You think Ash will let you go?" Cameron asked softly.

Kelly slid off the bed. His boots thunking to the floor sounded too loud in his ears. He shrugged a shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck. His skin itched. Light-headedness threatened to pull him to his knees. He pushed his glasses into his hair and ground the heels of his hands into his eyes. Stars exploded behind his eyelids and he watched them slide down his darkened vision.

"No one will. Everyone thinks I'm crazy."

"Are you?" Cameron asked, amusement lacing his tone.

Kelly snorted and gestured at Cameron as if that explained everything. "You think I should go?"

"You did put on shoes."

Kelly stared at the shiny leather of his boots. Even though he'd owned them for years, he'd hardly worn them. The tread was still borderline brand new. The leather outers bore a few faint creases and that was all. Nick had bought them for him. Actually bought them.

_You'll need boots. You can't go barefoot all the damn time, Kels._

Kelly's head swam, cotton fluffing the edges. He blinked at Cameron. "I need him back, Cam," he said hoarsely.

"Then go get him." His eyes seemed to glow brighter in the dimness of the infirmary. "Go get him before you get worse and you can't."

===

Ash paused with his hand on the doorknob, frowning as he heard voices. Was Eli awake already? Last time he'd heard, it was iffy as to whether or not the man would really wake up. His stomach rolled at the thought. He'd just managed to come to terms with his own crew--minus Preston--dying in an explosion a year ago. He didn't know if he could honestly handle another crew death so soon. First Eli grievously injured, now Nick a captive, and Kelly definitely sick. A heaviness sank over the ship in the form of darting eyes and grim expressions. _Sidewinder_ was falling apart, pieces of her family being carved away a slice at a time.

He heard a chittering noise and saw Barnum, the clockwork big cat who'd taken a liking to Ash, slinking along the deck. Cecily rode on his silver back like some sort of furry white knight, her chitters and chirrups carrying on the air. Barnum paused long enough for Ash to pat him on the head before he continued his stroll around the perimeter of the upper decks. Ash chuckled as he pushed open the door of the infirmary.

And froze.

He frowned at the tall, dark-haired guy staring rather too intensely for comfort at Kelly. "Who are you?"

Kelly's head whipped around but Ash's focus remained on the stranger, who glared menacingly at him. Ash took a step back at the bright crystalline blue of the man's eyes. He glanced at Kelly and gasped. "Kelly, are you okay?"

Kelly stared at him as though he'd seen a ghost. His glasses were missing and the cracked pupils of his too-bright eyes were tiny even in the relative dimness of his surroundings. The bruising under his eyes stood out brutally to his pale skin.

"You're not real," Kelly whispered.

"What?" Ash frowned. "Kelly. It's me. It's Ash."

Kelly shook his head and looked at the stranger then back at Ash. "No, if you're here and...and you see him then..."

Ash blinked rapidly, his heartbeat thrumming with anxiety. "Wait, _this_ is the guy you've been seeing all over the ship? This is Cameron?"

Kelly winced and pressed his hands to his temples. "I have to go," he muttered. "I need to go before I start seeing other people and I can't go rescue Nick." He turned around. "I need to leave a note for Ash. He needs to watch Eli."

"Kelly?" Ash stepped into the infirmary.

Cameron kept his gaze firmly on Ash, a small smirk curling the corner of his lips.

"Kelly, I'm not a hallucination," Ash said as he stepped forward.

Cameron stepped in his path and tilted his head to the side. The darkness of his expression contrasted with the brightness of his eyes sent shivers down Ash's spine. His gut lurched as he watched his friend scribble out a note. "Kelly, I'm real. I'm right here."

Kelly rolled his neck as he straightened. He stared at Cameron. "It's getting worse."

Cameron smiled sadly at him. "Hurry."

"What?" Ash pushed past Cameron, who felt real and warm and solid to him. "Kelly!" He froze as a very cold edge of a knife pressed into the back of his neck.

Cameron stepped up against him, saying nothing. His breath ghosted across Ash's skin, sending goosebumps down Ash's back.

Kelly held up a hand and shook his head fiercely as he headed for the infirmary door. "Everything's...confused and I have to get Nick before I'm broken." His voice came out almost musical as he slipped his goggles on and grabbed a coat. He was out of the infirmary before Ash could move or say anything else.

"Oh god," Ash breathed, terror streaking through him. "What did you do to him?"

"We played a little game," Cameron said in a low voice. "Now you see me..."

Pain exploded across the back of Ash's head as something hard and heavy struck him, making his knees buckle and driving him to the floor. Cameron's brilliant eyes hovered above him as darkness washed in from the edges.

"Now you don't."


	23. The Zombie Maker

Zane followed Deuce through the narrow cobbled streets of the city's poorer section, the underbelly where the most unfortunate of citizens resided. These darker corners lay hidden under blankets of grease and slime and never ending fog. The money forgot this end of the city, content to spend itself in the more affluent districts, hoping this end of civilization would quietly succumb to disrepair and perhaps fall into the ocean. Debris littered the cracked streets, filling gashes in the earth with their refuse. Clockwork animals in sore need of repair hobbled over uneven ground, their joints squeaking or missing entirely. Real animals skittered from shadow to shadow, avoiding human hands and human stomachs.

Zane flipped a few coins to ragged beggars, his gut souring at the stench and entropy. This was no way to treat your citizens. This was no way to treat your children. But he was beginning to see why this Wyatt had taken the job, especially if it provided decent payout or protection.

He and Ty and the rest of Sidewinder had tried over the decades. Tried to spread the wealth a bit further among the populace. But they were only one crew. The armada helped in their own way, plundering the elite merchant ships and ensuring the cargo actually made it to the masses instead of being stored in warehouses and distributed at ridiculous prices. On days like this, with the squalor of the city coating Zane's skin like slime and the life of a close friend hanging in the balance, Zane wondered if it was even worth it anymore.

"You okay?" Deuce murmured.

Zane snorted softly. "Define _okay_."

"Right."

"We talked about being done," Zane said. "Ty and I. Giving the ship to whoever wanted to take over. Heading to the land bridge to the property my father left me."

"Retired pirates," Deuce mused. "Don't know if that's really ever happened."

"The property is big enough for the entire crew."

"I tried to retire once. Didn't go well," Deuce said in an even tone.

Zane chuckled. "Yeah." He blew out a breath. "Okay, tell me about this Wyatt guy."

Deuce hummed. "Bookish type. Specialties include history and technology. When he was younger, he owned a shop which produced automaton pets for the elite. He was extremely adept at custom orders and new designs."

"New designs?" Zane asked.

Deuce turned down another alley. "The rich can be...unique...in their requests. A dog the size of a hamster. A cat the size of a horse. An animal with the body of a ferret but the limbs of a fawn."

Zane grimaced. "That sounds horrifying."

Deuce laughed. "Some of them were, yes. But he managed to make them palatable."

"So how did he end up here?"

Deuce paused and motioned with his chin to a warped and ill-fitting door at the end of the alley. "One of his creations exploded. Injured a small child. We think they messed with the internal workings on their own without consulting him. But it couldn't be proven beyond a hunch and Wyatt's knowledge of the family in question. It was his word against theirs."

"Damn," Zane breathed.

"He lost everything."

"That might explain why he took the zombie job." Zane rubbed a palm over his mask.

"Maybe. He was more depressed than angry though." Deuce shook his head. "At least he was last time I saw him. Things may have changed."

"Something did." Zane looked around, back the way they came then up at the rooftops curving above them, giving the illusion the buildings would topple down on them, crushing them in this narrow space. His skin crawled and his spine tingled but he couldn't decide if it was simply their surroundings or a keener sense. "If you were the Baron and you hired a guy to make your zombies, would you leave him unguarded?"

"No way." Deuce frowned. "I don't sense anything though."

"Keep scanning," Zane muttered as he headed for the door. He pulled a pistol from the brace on his hips and checked it as he raised a fist to knock.

"Who is it?" came a muffled voice.

"It's Deuce. I need to talk to you."

"Who's your friend?"

Deuce frowned. "Airship captain. I can tell you more when we're inside."

Silence.

Zane glanced around while they waited, his fingers flexing on his pistol. He didn't like the narrow alley or the tall buildings covered in low-hanging fog. He didn't like the blind curve to his left or the dead end to the right. He didn't like the opaque windows coated in grime. He didn't like the muffled sounds from the surrounding city or the dull thrum of air vehicles he couldn't see.

The entire moment covered him in spikes and made him bristle.

The clatter of locks turning and chains falling away met his ears and, moments later, the door cracked open. Deuce made an annoyed sound. "Today, Wyatt."

The door opened wider and a man with messy blond hair peeked out, squinting behind wire-rimmed glasses. His face bore a long, roping scar from the outer corner of his left eye to his collarbone, the edges rough and darker than the surrounding skin. He beckoned them inside, slamming the door shut and locking it behind them with a series of mismatched bolts and chains. Zane raised an eyebrow at the security measures then glanced around the small shop.

In a lot of ways, it reminded him of Nick's workshop on the ship, a thought that made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He desperately hoped this man could give them some much needed direction. Clues as to where Nick could be. Last year, when the Baron took Ty and Kelly, it made the most sense to head to the Baron's compound to hunt them down. Now, with the Baron a veritable ghost and clockwork zombies running around Switzerland, Nick could be _anywhere_.

If he was even still alive.

"What do you want, Deuce?" the man asked.

"Wyatt, this is Zane Garrett," Deuce answered smoothly.

Wyatt's eyes widened behind his lenses. "You brought a _pirate_ into my shop?"

Deuce leveled a hard look at him. "You've had worse here recently. Don't get all uppity with me."

Wyatt shifted his weight from foot to foot. "What are you talking about?"

"Clockwork automatons who use human bodies instead of synthetics," Zane answered with a raised eyebrow.

"I found the chips in the joints," Deuce said before Wyatt could deny it. "Did he threaten you? Pay you a lot?"

Wyatt snorted as he moved across the shop. "He paid me, but it barely covered the cost of supplies."

Zane frowned. "What did he promise you?"

"First, he promised he wouldn't kill me." Wyatt pulled a few items from a cabinet on the wall. "Then, he promised me a high-ranking position in his new government."

Zane exchanged a confused look with Deuce. "Government?"

Wyatt glanced over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a smirk, which distorted the scar even further and made the expression more macabre than smug. "Haven't you heard? He's taking over the world."

"What's his plan?" Zane asked, his insides resembling writhing snakes. As far-fetched as the initial statement sounded, the Baron clearly had resources at his disposal no one anticipated. After fighting automaton zombies and with one of his men missing, Zane wasn't taking anything lightly.

Wyatt shrugged as he deposited a few clockwork devices on the counter. "I'm just a lowly minion. He wouldn't tell me all the details." He ran his gloved hands through his messy hair, making the ends stick up more than ever. "He just said he needed these...creatures...made. They sounded interesting so I made one mostly to see if I could actually do it."

"It's really disgusting, man," Deuce muttered.

Wyatt huffed. "Says the advanced clockwork pirate."

"How many did you make?" Zane asked.

"Enough for an army. I wasn't the only guy making them, though." He picked up one of the clockwork mechanisms and held it out to Deuce. "This came out of one that was brought to me for salvage. That isn't my work."

Deuce flipped it over and looked at it carefully. "Do you recognize it?"

Wyatt shook his head then pointed to the other three lying on the counter. "Based on this, there's at least four other makers." He spread his palms flat on the counter. "He said he'd burn my shop down if I didn't help him. And two clockwork makers turned up dead this morning."

"He has what he needs so he's killing the witnesses," Deuce said quietly.

"Except me," Wyatt said carefully. He hunched his shoulders. "I'm the original designer. These other four were working off my specs. If he kills me, he loses the original designs."

Zane stiffened. "Can you stop them? The ones you made?"

Wyatt nodded. "I can stop all of them. At least, I think I can. But if he's already killing the others..." he trailed off with a floppy gesture with both hands.

"He'll be coming for you. He'll want to keep you secured." Deuce glanced at Zane.

"If he's killing the others already," Zane murmured as he moved toward the door. "Then he's done with this stage of his plan. Which means we need to get out of here before we have company."

"Let me come with you," Wyatt said in an urgent tone. "I can help."

"How do I know you aren't a spy? Or a copy of the real Wyatt?" Zane growled.

"The first one, you'll have to take my word for it." Wyatt flipped open an old pocketknife. "As for the second," he slashed his forearm with a hiss.

Deuce threw him a handkerchief then turned to Zane. "We need to take him with us. We can definitely use him."

_Trade him for Nick_ , Deuce's glowing eyes seemed to say. Zane hated the idea. He hated trading people for people. It always ended messy.

But war was messy, and when the Baron took two of his own last year, he'd definitely gotten Sidewinder's attention. Now that he had another and an obvious vendetta against the pirate crew?

Sidewinder was out for blood.

Zane leveled a look at Wyatt that made the zombie maker recoil a little. "If you cross me, I'll make sure your body is the next one used for one of those monsters."

Wyatt nodded quickly, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. "I'll just get...a few things." He hurried away.

Deuce arched an eyebrow at Zane. "Getting a little dark in your old age."

Zane didn't answer. He watched the front door with narrowed eyes, his sharpened hearing picking up something that shouldn't be outside. He lowered his chin as he listened, focusing on the scraping and clicking sounds drifting in through the ill-fitting windows and the scarred door.

"How many?" Deuce asked quietly.

"I don't know," Zane answered as he pulled his pistols from his belt.

Deuce cursed softly and spun away, heading for the back of the shop where Wyatt had vanished. Zane headed for the counters, ducking behind them right as the door and windows blew inward with a splintering of wood and shards of glass raining across the shop like a storm. Fire whooshed across the ceiling, eating old paint and the timber beams. Heat rolled through the shop followed by the staccato explosions of guns. Bullets punched the counters and the walls, hungry for flesh and bone and sinew.

Zane fired over the counter, hoping he hit something vital as clockwork zombies poured into the shop, their joints clicking and whirring. He reloaded and slid across the narrow gap between counters to the other side where it was more stable. A flaming timber gave way from the ceiling with a resounding crack and plummeted to the floor where he'd been sitting.

"Goddamn," he breathed. He blew out a breath and squeezed his eyes shut for two counts. He spun and raised on one knee, firing at zombie heads and chests. Guns fired in return and pain seared across his arm and his ribs when flying bullets clipped him and took their taste of blood.

"Zane!" Deuce yelled. "We got more coming in the back!"

Zane growled out a curse and headed for Deuce. He'd gone four steps when a rotting arm slid around his neck and jerked him back. Zane followed the movement with all the force in his legs and threw them backward. They fell to the floor, the zombie crunching underneath him with sickening splintering sounds. Something stabbed him in the back of the shoulder, stopped by his shoulder blade but still causing an insane amount of pain across his upper back. Zane rolled to a crouch, standing and catching a thrown punch, twisting the zombie's arm and bringing his knee up to its gut at the same time.

The arm twisted completely off, broken bone and clockwork mechanism cracking apart like walnut shells. Zane fought the urge to gag even though his mask filtered the smell.

"Deuce!" he called over his shoulder.

No answer.

A clockwork fist smashed across his jaw, snapping his head back and sending him stumbling into the wall. Another large chunk of the ceiling gave way, fire brushing his arm as it fell to the floor in a shower of ash and burning wood. Agony crawled across his skin and he fought to maintain a grip on his gun. He brought the pistol up and fired at his attacker, catching it in the cheek, and flipped his gun around, smashing the butt into the zombie's temple. The clockwork's head snapped to one side with a crack that set Zane's teeth on edge and crumpled to the floor.

Zane held his burned arm to his chest. "Deuce! Wyatt!"

"Zane!" came Deuce's frantic call. "We're pinned down! Wyatt's hurt!"

Zane brought up his gun and fired until the chamber clicked empty. More clockwork automatons entered the shop. The ceiling splintered and cracked, more pieces falling around him and the automatons. He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth against the pain slamming his body like a tidal wave, and ran for the door to the back room where Deuce and Wyatt were trapped.


	24. A Mighty Storm

Ash cracked one eye open, groaning as he rolled over and pushed himself up on one arm. His head thrummed to its own drumbeat. His joints screamed as he tried to move them from their cramped positions. He rolled up to a sit, closing his eyes against a wave of nausea that billowed up his throat. His brain felt like a ceramic jar dropped from high up. Piecing together what had happened to put him on the cold floor of the infirmary was an exercise almost too strenuous for his pounding head. He pressed a palm to the back of his head, hissing at the tender knot. No blood.

He'd take the silver lining where he could get it.

Steady beeping slowly penetrated the fog and he looked up, frowning at Elias on the bed. Memories pushed to the forefront. Elias injured. Zane and Deuce going to speak to a zombie maker. Kelly in here with a strange guy--

_Kelly._

Ash gasped and scrambled to his feet, lurching to the side as the ship shuddered and the floor tipped. His hip slammed into the edge of an empty bed. Pain flared through the bone and radiated down his thigh. He bounced off it as the ship tilted to the other side. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and right his balance.

But as his reality strengthened, he realized it wasn't all him. The ship really was groaning and shrieking as something struck it again and again. A crash of thunder broke directly overhead, followed swiftly by a growing roar as rain swept over the boat. He frowned and glanced at the ceiling. A rainstorm wouldn't throw the ship around like that if she were still docked.

How long had he been unconscious?

He checked Eli's breathing and the attached monitors. All seemed as good as anyone could hope. Something heavy slammed into the ship again, causing it to shudder and protest. Shouts filtered through the harsh storm, but Ash couldn't make out what anyone was saying.

Then came the gunfire and a boom that sounded suspiciously like a cannon blast.

Hand to his pounding head, Ash opened the door, squinting into the lashing rain that soaked him within ten seconds of stepping onto the slick walkway. He pulled the door shut, tugging on it to make sure it was secure, then tried to get his bearings.

Clouds black as coal billowed across the sky, blotting out the sun. Steam lamps glittered across the ship, trying to throw light against the darkness but only spreading meager halos from the confines of their brass holdings. Ash leaned against the railing, seeking out the city lights through the bleakness. He wiped water out of his face, hope streaking through him when he saw they were still docked.

Another boom and the ship tilted, slamming into the docks with a sickening crunch.

Ash pushed off the railing and ran down the walkway, his boots sliding on rain-slick boards. "Ty!" he hollered. "Captain!" The wind caught his voice and carried it away from the ship. He growled in frustration and skidded toward the ladder leading to the main deck. The ship lurched as the cannons boomed again, throwing Ash over the edge of the ladder and out into the rain-swept air.

He flung an arm out, clutching the top railing and stopping his fall. His body slammed against the ladder and his fingers slipped off. The deck met his back before he had a chance to curl into a ball, the impact knocking the wind from his lungs. Rain beat down on him, sliding into his mouth and down his throat, making him gag and cough.

A shadow blocked the rain. Gasping for air, he flinched as fat drops rolled off Barnum's broad head and splattered on his face. "Hey, buddy," he rasped. "I need to find Ty."

Barnum poked him with a cold nose and nudged him in the side. Ash slung an arm around the beast's neck and used him for leverage to get up. Cannons boomed and the darkened sky around him lit up with flashes of fire, but he still couldn't make out who they were fighting in the gloom.

Ash followed Barnum's silver form through the rain. He felt naked without any weapons as explosions dotted the sky around him. Lights lined docks, each one blinking in an erratic pattern. A moment later, he realized they were guns.

And whoever it was had the Sidewinder in their sights.

Ash's stomach lurched and his head pounded. Pain screamed through his back and his lungs felt lined in cement for all they were helping him breathe. "Ty!" he yelled again, his voice raspy and weak.

"Ash!" Digger materialized out of the storm, a bomb in one hand and a pistol in the other. "We're under attack! I need you on the top turret."

"I need to find Ty!" Ash yelled over the roar of the storm.

"And Ty needs you on the damn turret!" Digger shoved Ash's shoulder, angling him away from the masthead and back toward the rear of the vessel.

"Kelly's gone!" Ash protested as he yanked out of Digger's hold and faced the pirate again. "He's not sick and he's gone!"

Digger paused, his head tilted like a dog who caught a distant noise.

Ash yanked Digger closer so he could actually be heard. "His hallucination was real. It was all a trick and now he's gone."

"Where did he go?" Digger asked.

"All he said was he had to rescue Nick before he was broken. I think he went to do the exchange."

Digger let out a string of curses in guttural French. "Ty's in navigation. He's about to break the mooring. I'll go to the turret. Run."

Ash's heart flipped at the news. If they broke mooring, there'd be no rescue attempt on Kelly or Nick. Zane and Deuce would be stranded until Sidewinder could return. He nodded his thanks and took off toward navigation at as much of a run as he could muster in the storm. The rain pelted him sideways, followed swiftly by cold wind slamming him against walls and biting through his wet clothes. He was shivering by the time he reached navigation.

"Ty!" He shouldered through the door, groaning in pain as he stumbled against the wall.

Ty whirled with a pistol in one hand, rolling his eyes when he saw who it was. "Dammit, Lucroix. Get out there and get a gun. I've only got five men to defend the ship until Zane and Deuce get back."

Ash held his side as he shook his head. "Four. Kelly's gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"Gone as in not on the boat," Ash snapped. "He's not seeing things. The guy we thought he was hallucinating? Is real. He's got Kelly all crazy somehow, but I walked in on them talking in the infirmary. Kelly thought I was a mirage or something. He kept going on about leaving me a note to watch Eli and that he needed to rescue Nick before he was too broken. Then his friend clocked me."

Ty had paled during Ash's story, but when Ash reached the end, Ty's expression hardened. He smacked the comm box. "Digger! Get in here!"

"Shooting zombies, boss!"

"Get to the next even number and get in here." Ty smacked it shut before Digger could respond. He dragged his hands through his wet hair.

"Zombies are attacking?" Ash asked.

"A horde," Ty muttered. "They appeared as soon as the storm moved in. It's like they knew we couldn't fly in this." His narrowed gaze darted every which way while he thought. "You and Digger go after Kelly."

"But--"

Ty grabbed Ash's shoulders. "Take the skiff. Digger should be able to pilot it to the city before the storm brings you down." His hands slipped off and he paced away. "Owen and I will break mooring now and take her up. As far as we can tell, they don't have ships. We'll ride out the storm and come back to pick everyone up. Find Zane and Deuce. The rescue is up to you guys now. At least until we can return to port. Get Kelly." Ty turned and glared at Ash. "For fuck's sake, get Nick back. I want to see everyone's face when I return to rescue your sorry asses."

For all Ty's growling and raised hackles, Ash saw the flash of worry in his captain's eyes. Ash pressed his lips together and nodded. On impulse, he lurched forward and hugged Ty, squeezing tightly. Ty froze in surprise then wrapped his arms around Ash and returned the gesture.

"It's been an honor, captain," Ash whispered.

"None of that, you fucking pirate." Ty's voice cracked on the final word and his arms tightened.

Ash disentangled himself and nodded. "I'm taking Barnum. He'll be helpful in case anyone's hurt."

Ty cleared his throat. "Good idea. Get some weapons from the armory. Tell Digger to go shopping. And Ash?"

Ash paused with his hand on the knob and glanced over his shoulder.

Ty's face was etched in sharp corners and harsh lines. "Get my fucking men back."

"Aye, captain." Ash dove into the storm of rain and gunfire once again.


	25. Currency Exchange

Nick pulled his arm out of Smith's grasp. Or maybe it was Wesson; he didn't give a fuck. "I don't need your fucking help to stand."

In reality, he did. Or at least a pair of crutches. He was painfully aware of every inch of his body and not at all in a fun way. Every breath hurt. Standing hurt. Straining to keep his vision clear hurt. His bound wrists behind his back hurt. He had no idea how many times he'd blacked out or how much time had passed while Smith and Wesson worked him over. All he knew was he had to get back to Kelly. To tell him he wasn't sick. To catch Cameron and prove the slippery bastard was alive and _real_ and fucking with Kelly's mind.

He shivered as rain pounded against his bruised and battered skin. Water dripped off his hair and slid into the rips of his clothing, stinging across cuts and scrapes. The Baron stood under an umbrella held by one of the twins. Preston and another dark-haired man Nick didn't know stood off to one side, pistols drawn, seemingly unfazed by the lashing rain. The other twin guarded Nick as they stood on the front steps of the massive cathedral which dominated the center of the city.

The building was a magnificent relic from a time when organized religion ruled the political sphere and started wars all in the name of a higher power. Buildings such as these dotted the lands, all returned to their original purpose of providing sanctuary for the poor and needy. Beds replaced pews. Libraries replaced religious texts. Medical help replaced pulpits.

It was a place all of Sidewinder had sought refuge in one form or another throughout their lives. These cathedrals were the places they returned to again and again with spoils of their adventures, giving back to the very people who helped them when they were homeless boys.

The fact that Nick believed he would die on the steps of one of these buildings seemed oddly unfair.

The storm grew as they waited. He had no idea what or who they were waiting for, but his gut churned with nerves. His mind spun through the exhaustion and pain, looking for a way out. Looking for a way to escape and get back to Kelly. If he could distract them, he could use the storm for cover and disappear into the maze-like streets of Switzerland's lower quarter. Surely, he could muster enough strength to--

Two figures appeared out of the darkest part of the storm.

"No," Nick whispered, horror streaking through him when he realized exactly _why_ he'd been brought here.

Kelly's eyes widened at the sight of Nick and his hands curled into fists at his side. Rain plastered his hair to his head and his clothes to his lean body. Too lean. He wasn't wearing any eye protection either, and his eyes glowed eerily white in the gloom. His companion, another stranger to Nick, tilted his head to the side and smile slowly.

"Are you Cameron?" Nick yelled as more shadows materialized. Clockwork zombies cut off all escape points into the city. He was trapped but he didn't care. All he cared about was Kelly.

_Here._

Kelly pulled up short. "Nick?"

"It's me, babe," Nick called. "Is that Cameron? The guy next to you?"

Kelly's mask of anger slipped, confusion passing through his too-bright eyes. "You can see him?"

Cameron cracked his neck and grabbed Kelly's arm. "Of course he can see me, string bean."

Kelly tried to yank his arm free but Cameron moved in a blur, twisting Kelly's arm behind his back and wrapping his other arm around Kelly's throat. Cameron nuzzled Kelly's cheek while staring at Nick. "He grew up so pretty, Nicky."

"Don't fucking call me that," Nick growled. He lurched forward but the twin stopped him, grabbing his arm and sending renewed pain flaring through his shoulder. He hissed in pain. "Let go of him."

"Or else what," Cameron called. "You'll hobble over here and kick my ass? Try it, pirate."

Nick jerked against the grip on his arm, sending waves of agony through the limb but he didn't care.

Kelly struggled, confusion contorting his features. "What's happening?"

Thunder crashed overhead, drowning out Cameron's response in Kelly's ear but Kelly froze, paling in gloom, his eyes glowing brighter with emotion. Devastation cleaved his face, stripes of anger and sadness bleeding out. His eyes found Nick's. Rainwater streamed down his face and all the fight drained out of him.

"No," Nick whispered. He fought so hard, the twin wrapped him up in a bear hug from behind and lifted him from the ground so he couldn't get any leverage. "No! Kelly!"

The Baron stepped forward with his dark-haired companion, who was smiling with a hint of pride in Cameron's direction. "Enough of this. We have a trade."

Trade? Nick froze for an eternal moment with a look of horror at The Baron, his gaze snapping back to Kelly. "What do you want with him?"

"That is none of your concern, Nicholas," The Baron said smoothly.

Thunder rumbled overhead, followed swiftly by flashes of lightning which sparked through the clouds. Nick glanced upward as the rumbling grew louder and more distinctive. He went limp, curling his body down in the automaton's arms. The twin huffed in disgust and dropped him to marble steps. Nick managed to land on his feet, his bound arms preventing him from holding his balance as he crumpled into a heap on the steps. Pain shot through his knee, but he used the momentum of the fall, rolling down the steps and praying nothing knocked him unconscious.

"Nick!" Kelly's panicked voice carried through the storm.

Nick groaned and rolled to his back, his wet fingers sliding over soaked and tightened knots. Rain spattered his face, rolling into his eyes, his ears, and his mouth. He coughed as shadows loomed over him. One of the twins leveled a pistol at his face.

"We have Kelly," The Baron said. "What keeps me from shooting you in the eye?"

"Always got your robots to do your dirty work, huh?" Nick yelled. "Never willing to get your own damn hands dirty."

The Baron smiled from the relative dryness of his umbrella. "I could have Julian or Preston here do it for me. They're human, as far as I know."

The corner of Julian's mouth twitched as his dark gaze landed on Nick.

"It's been fun, Nicholas. I would tell you to say hello to Tyler for me, but I think I'll leave your body to do that for me." The Baron turned away.

"Nick!" Kelly yelled.

A gun exploded and Nick flinched, fully expecting the punch of a hot bullet searing through his body. Instead, the twin's head jerked to one side, twisted gears and wires popping out one side of his head. Nick rolled to one side as the twin toppled over in a heap of sparking, dying machinery.

More gunshots flew out of the storm, followed by the rumble of an engine. Nick glanced around, shouting in triumph when Sidewinder's skiff burst out of the storm, flying low enough for Ash to take shots at the clockwork zombies. Digger hollered something but the storm carried away the words. The only thing that reached Nick's ear was the unholy glee in the pirate's voice.

"You crazy sons of bitches!" Nick hollered back.

Ash saluted Nick as he kept firing. The Baron shouted. Cameron started to drag Kelly toward the cathedral steps. Julian darted forward to help. Metal flashed as he pulled something from his pocket. Automatons fired into the air at the swooping skiff. Thunder crashed and the world darkened as the storm grew in intensity.

Nick scooted back to the scrap heap that used to be one of the twin bots. He felt around for something sharp. Anything with an edge that could cut the ropes around his wrists. His fingers slipped over half a gear. It felt like it took years for him to saw the ropes enough so he could pull free. He pushed to his feet right as Cameron and Julian pulled Kelly to the top of the steps. The Baron and Preston were nowhere to be seen.

"Kelly!" Nick yelled.

"Nick!" Kelly thrashed against the near stranglehold Cameron had him in. He kicked and clawed, his boots landing on shins and stamping on feet.

Julian sneered at him, grabbing Kelly's hair in one hand and yanking his head to one side to expose his neck.

"No!" Nick swiped the twin's gun from the cobbles and fired, clipping Julian on the shoulder.

Julian's expression hardened but he jammed a syringe home into the pale skin of Kelly's neck. Kelly yelled in pain, his voice going strained and hoarse.

Nick fired again and again, striking Julian in the leg and Cameron across the arm. Julian pulled a pistol and fired back, hitting Nick square in the shoulder. Heat and pain flared through Nick's body, the excruciating burn eating across his shoulder and making him drop the gun. He yelled in frustration.

"Nick!" Ash's voice came over the storm.

Digger landed the skiff and both men jumped out, guns drawn.

"Get Kelly!" Nick pointed at the cathedral.

Digger and Ash both fired but their bullets struck the heavy door as Julian and Cameron disappeared inside with an unconscious Kelly between them.

Nick pulled every reserve of strength he had and ran for the cathedral doors. He yanked them open, his vision wavering as shock and exposure rolled over him.

"Nick!" Digger grabbed his other arm and slung it over his shoulders.

"Kelly," Nick gasped. "Get Kelly." He stumbled forward, pulling out of Digger's grasp.

Ash darted ahead, running through the darkened building, following the trail of water and blood down the center aisle of beds. The trail wound around toward what used to be offices of the clergy. It headed down a narrow hallway barely lit by low-burning gas lamps.

Nick sagged against the wall, the world tipping to the side and his knees buckling. "Kelly," he managed.

Digger slipped his arm around Nick's waist and held him up. "Easy, brother."

Ash ran ahead, gunning for an open door at the end of the hall. The flimsy wood banged in the storm, rain soaking the old carpeting. He ran into the storm without hesitation. Nick strained against Digger's grip. "Faster."

"Ash is a damn good shot and you're dying, Irish," Digger said. But he picked up the pace, practically carrying Nick down the hall.

When they neared the doorway, Ash reappeared, his face pale and his eyes bleak. "They're gone."

"No," Nick moaned. "No no no." He lurched forward but Digger tightened his hold. Ash grabbed Nick on both sides of the neck, his thumbs brushing under Nick's jaw.

"We'll find him. I promise we'll find him. We need to find Zane and Deuce, then we'll meet up with the ship and go after The Baron." Ash's grip tightened. "He's my best friend, Nicko. We'll get him back."

Nick sagged in their holds, his adrenaline and energy seeping out of his body through open wounds and a broken heart.


	26. Dodging Raindrops & Bullets

Deuce held the rag to Wyatt's side, flinching when Wyatt cried out in pain. "Sorry," he muttered. He glanced at Zane, who was peeling out of his burned jacket and shirt. "How's your arm?"

"Charred," Zane answered in a tight voice.

Thunder boomed directly overhead, so low it rattled the loose panes in the window of the grimy hostel they'd barreled into after escaping Wyatt's shop. Zane had thrown the surprised owner a bag of coins and swiped a key with a warning not to let anyone know they were there.

Zane grimaced as he peeled his shirt away from his arm, the fabric ripping as stuck pieces stayed behind. He hissed and threw the ruined shirt on the floor then turned his arm to the light. "Well that's going to scar."

"Will it get infected before then?" Deuce asked.

Zane sighed. "Let's hope not." He twisted the rusted taps at the sink, curling his lip at the brackish water that gurgled out of the pipe. "I think I'm better off just bandaging it."

Deuce nodded. "Yeah."

Zane swiped his bloodied shirt off the floor and started tearing it into strips. "How's he?"

"He'll live," Deuce said quietly.

"Doesn't feel like it," Wyatt grumbled.

Deuce lifted the rag and examined the gash across Wyatt's ribcage. "It's not too deep. Just enough to bleed a lot. Hold that in place." He pressed the rag to his side again and put Wyatt's hand over it.

"Let me see," Deuce held a hand out for Zane's arm.

Zane sniffed once and held his arm out. From about halfway up his bicep to halfway down his forearm was bright red and angry. The skin had split in a few spots, adding blood to the mess of peeling skin on his arm.

"That is really gross," Deuce said.

"You're really opinionated for an automaton," Zane pulled his arm away and started wrapping strips of shirt around it.

Deuce snorted and helped, making sure the entirety of the burn was covered and the bandage secure. Zane eased back into his jacket and buttoned it closed for more protection, and so he wasn't walking around the streets of Switzerland topless. He held his arm over his stomach, his eyes narrowing in a grimace.

"We need to get back to the ship," he said.

Deuce nodded. "In the storm or wait until it clears?"

Zane glanced at the leaking ceiling, listening to the howl of the storm. "Storm would provide cover. But it'd be hell getting through it to the docks."

"Six of one," Deuce murmured.

Zane nodded as he stripped his mask off and rubbed his face. "We hunker down here until the storm passes. Want to head down to the kitchen and see if they have anything edible?"

"How am I supposed to determine that?" Deuce pulled his coat on and headed for the door.

"Not in the mood for your lip, Deuce," Zane growled.

Deuce gave him a saucy salute before he left the room. The foundations of the building had settled in centuries past, making the hallways and doorways warped and a little tilted. Boards bowed up or curved down, providing many places to trip. He thumped downstairs, hanging out by the end of the main desk while another couple checked in, both of them drenched to the bone. Deuce slid out of his coat and held it out to them.

"It's dry and a good deal warmer than what you're wearing." He smiled gently at them.

Their eyes went wide and stuttering thanks poured from their lips with promises to give it back or buy him a new one or pay him back in some fashion. He waved a hand dismissively and turned to the hostel owner. "Food?"

The man jerked his thumb at a door over his shoulder. "Kitchen's in there. Haven't had a delivery in a few days so there's not much."

Deuce nodded his thanks and headed through the heavy door. It squeaked when he opened it and scraped the floor partway until it stuck in an old groove and wouldn't budge. He left it propped open and wandered through the tiny kitchen. Gas stove in the corner. A barely functioning icebox. Shelves filled with cracked, mismatched dishes and bent silverware. The bins set aside for produce were mostly empty, most of the food remaining sprouting tendrils or mold spots. Deuce managed to find a few apples and a potato which looked like they wouldn't kill anyone. He rummaged through the icebox quickly, abandoning it even faster.

He was heating diced potato and apple over a low flame on the stove when the back door burst open and Ash stumbled in, water streaming down his body.

"Holy shit," Deuce slid the pan off the heat and hurried over to Ash.

Ash grinned at him, the smile tired. "Thank god, it is you. You know your fucking tracker doesn't specify that it's _you_ , just that it's a bot. Thought you would like to know how incredibly irritating that is."

"What the hell?" Deuce frowned at him. "What are you doing here? Where's the ship?" Barnum slunk in after Ash, water running down his silver plates. He pushed his face into Deuce's hand and rumbled.

"Ty sent Digger and me after Kelly. He did the exchange for Nick on his own."

"What?" Deuce asked in shock as he ran his fingers over Barnum's cold metal skin. "What happened?"

Ash held the door open and, moments later, Digger shouldered through the narrow doorframe, supporting a barely conscious Nick.

"Oh gods," Deuce whispered. "Is he..."

"He's alive," Digger said in a low voice. "But they worked him over pretty good. You got a room?"

Deuce nodded. "Where's Kelly?"

Ash pressed his lips together and shook his head.

Deuce muttered a swift curse. He grabbed a bowl and scraped the meager food offerings into it, then gestured for them to follow him. They headed into the tiny lobby, and Deuce threw another small pouch of money at the hostel owner. The owner took one look at the group and tossed Deuce another key.

"Next door."

Deuce nodded his thanks and headed upstairs. He handed Ash the key and pointed to the door. "I'll be there in a second. Let me tell Zane you're here."

Ash pointed to his small, leather satchel. "I have some medical supplies but not much. Is Zane okay?"

"He's got some burns on one arm. Wyatt might need some stitches."

"Wyatt?" Ash asked as he unlocked the door for Digger. Digger took Nick inside without a word. Barnum followed, his bright gaze on Nick as if he'd decided _that one_ needed protecting.

Deuce opened their door and motioned for Zane. "Ash, Digger, and Nick are here."

"Nick?" Zane shot up and hurried out of the room. Ash flattened himself against the wall to let him past.

Deuce leaned in the doorway of their room and gestured to Wyatt on the bed. "Wyatt, this is Ash. Ash, Wyatt. He built the automaton zombies for The Baron."

Ash's eyebrows went up. "I don't know whether to be impressed or upset with you."

Wyatt grimaced at him. "I suppose both are warranted."

Ash glanced around at the small room. "Two beds in each room?"

Deuce nodded.

Ash smiled at Wyatt. "Let me see your side." He knelt by the bed and gently pushed Wyatt's shirt up.

Wyatt hissed in pain, his eyes never leaving Ash's face. "You're a doctor?"

"Technically, no. But I help out our ship's medic all the time. I can stitch in a straight line, and I know how to poke people with syringes." He winked.

Deuce smiled as Wyatt seemed to visibly relax under Ash's easy demeanor. He'd observed enough human interaction in his time to recognize flirting, and Ash seemed to have set his dial on high the second he laid eyes on Wyatt. Which was good. Ash hadn't been quite the same since his ship blew up and his crew killed. One of his own coming back to life had thrown him completely off, even Deuce could see that.

"I'm going to check on Nick," Deuce said.

Ash nodded without looking up. "I'll get this taken care of then bring him in there. Keep all the injured in one room."

"Makes sense," Deuce agreed.

No response from either of them so Deuce headed next door. Digger was finishing up the sequence of events which Deuce caught the tail end of as he walked in.

"We brought down one of the twins and chased The Baron and that Cameron kid through the cathedral but they vanished with Kelly." Digger gestured at Nick. "We needed to get him help, so we couldn't follow."

Nick was stripped of his wet clothes and under a blanket, his face pale and his eyelids fluttering as he fought to stay awake. "Kelly," he gasped.

Zane rested a palm on Nick's forehead. "We'll get him back."

"How is he?" Deuce asked quietly.

"No bones broken," Digger said. "His ribs are tender, but he's mostly weak. Needs to sleep. Needs to eat."

Deuce glanced down at the bowl of apples and potatoes he still held and offered it. "Give him this. I'll head back out and find more food."

Zane took it with a nod. Digger headed for the door. "I'll go with you. We staying here until the storm passes?"

"Yes," Zane answered as he pulled a chair over to Nick's bedside. "As soon as it does, we head for the docks."

"And hope Ty's back with the ship," Digger added as he left the room.

Deuce met Zane's dark gaze. Fear and worry and determination all warred for the dominant emotion. "I'll see if we can find some new clothes for you two."

Zane nodded as Barnum hopped onto Nick's bed and draped himself over Nick's ankles, his rumbling purring somehow the only soothing noise above the roar of the storm outside.

===

Ash held his bottom lip between his teeth as he carefully stitched up Wyatt's side. The cut wasn't too bad, and the deepest part only required a few stitches. If he was careful enough, it might not even scar.

He didn't know why he cared about that last part but he did. He'd had Wyatt talk about himself as distraction while Ash worked. What started as an easy exercise to keep Wyatt's focus on anything _but_ the needle stabbing turned into Ash actually wanting him to keep talking. He was so different from anyone Ash had ever met.

Ash glanced at Wyatt's face again and smiled at him. "Nearly there."

Wyatt nodded, blue eyes fixed on the ceiling. "And then that guy showed up, the one you called the Baron, and offered me...offered me money to help him with a new project."

"The zombies."

Wyatt sighed. "Yeah. I needed the money."

Ash shrugged. "If you're waiting for me to judge you, it's not happening. I mean, yeah, the zombies suck and the Baron's a royal asshole, but...you didn't know. Right?"

"No, I didn't know," Wyatt said quickly.

"He tricks people all the time," Ash said. His mind flitted to Preston for a second before he slammed that memory down. "Uses people to achieve things." He shook off the memory of walking in on Cameron manipulating Kelly.

"You know this from personal experience," Wyatt said it more of a statement than as a question.

Ash smiled at him. "You hurt anywhere else?"

Wyatt managed a small smile, not drawing attention to the obvious dodge. "You going to kiss it better?"

Ash gave him a wink. "Maybe if you're a good patient."

Wyatt chuckled then grimaced in pain. "Sorry."

"No problem. Last stitch." Ash pulled the dark thread tight then swiftly knotted it off. He snipped the excess and threw the needle into a bowl of water. "Salve is going to burn, but it'll keep it from getting infected. Ready?"

Wyatt's hand landed on Ash's knee and he nodded. "Ready."

Ash patted his hand, surprise streaking through him when Wyatt's thumb curled around his fingers. He kept his hand in place and smeared the clear, gooey healing slime across the stitches. Wyatt made a low noise in the back of his throat and his fingers tightened on Ash's knee.

Ash pulled his hand free and wiped his fingers clean. He taped a makeshift bandage over the wound to protect it then pulled Wyatt's shirt down again. "All done."

"Thank you," Wyatt said. A faint blush whispered across his face. "You must think I'm pathetic."

Ash arched an eyebrow. "For reacting to pain? No, I'd say it makes you human." He gathered his things and stuck them back in his satchel. "If it helps, first time I got cut deep enough to need stitches, I was seventeen and cried like a newborn baby. Howled even."

Wyatt smiled. "That bad?"

Ash twisted his arm around so Wyatt could see the underside of his tattooed bicep. "Scar is there but you can't really see it because of the ink. I was running from this shopkeeper who caught me stealing food and fell off the lip of this little tool shed. Clipped the edge of the roof when I fell."

"Ouch," Wyatt grimaced.

"Very. But I was crying so hard that when the shopkeeper caught up to me, I guess he felt sorry for me. He took me to a clinic and let me keep the food I stole." Ash shrugged. He rested a hand on Wyatt's leg. "You feel like moving? I need to check on Nick and it'll be easier to keep an eye on you if you're all in the same room."

Wyatt nodded and managed to get to a sit, his hand holding his injured side. Ash helped him stand, trying to stay focused on helping an injured man to the next room and not how nicely said injured man's body fit against his own.

"My clothes are wet," Ash mumbled. "Sorry about that."

Wyatt smiled at him. "It's okay. Small price to pay."

Ash's insides knotted up at that smile. _Damn_ , that smile was pretty. He grinned back. "Let's get you next door."

Wyatt sighed. "I suppose you need to help others, and I can't keep you to myself all day."

Ash patted him on the belly. "Maybe another time."

They headed next door where Wyatt sank to the extra bed gratefully.  Barnum lifted his head in interest and slid off Nick's bed. He padded over to them and stuck his head on Ash's lap. Wyatt gasped.

"Automaton cat?"

"Jaguar or tiger or something," Ash said. "Saved my life a while back. Rescued me from some burning rigging." He patted Wyatt's bed and Barnum hopped onto it.

Barnum eyed Wyatt then settled down on the bed, his head on Wyatt's thigh. Wyatt grinned and glanced at Ash. "Can I help in any way?"

Ash patted Barnum's flank. "I need to check Zane's arm. You rest."

Ash tended Zane's arm quickly, which pretty much consisted of glancing at it to make sure it wasn't infected, handing over the salve and whatever bandages he had left. Wyatt gestured for the supplies--ignoring Ash's instructions to rest--and helped Zane bandage up his burns properly while Ash turned his attention to Nick.

"Damn, son," Ash teased as he sat on the edge of Nick's bed. "Couple of rounds with a bare-knuckle?"

Nick smirked at him, his eyes half-lidded due to exhaustion and swelling. "You should see the other guy."

Ash hummed as he pulled the covers down to Nick's hips and started checking him over. "No one in their right mind would go up against Pirate O'Flaherty and expect to come out on top, am I right?"

Nick snorted softly, his eyes drifting shut. "Thanks, Ash," he managed in a quiet voice.

Ash patted him on the chest and continued his examination in silence.

The storm howled and battered the ground for the next several hours, the sky growing darker with each passing minute. Rain turned to sleet and then hail, hammering the streets and windows with all the fury of nature as if it wanted the city washed into the ocean.

_Out, damn spot._

Ash didn't know why that line jumped into his head as he watched the storm through the lead glass. Digger and Deuce had returned with a bounty of stale bread, some fruit that barely passed muster, and a block of hard cheese. They'd managed to find dry clothes for Nick and a new shirt for Zane. No one asked where they got it. No one really cared.

Nick and Wyatt slept under Ash's careful watch while Digger and Zane napped in the adjoining room. After some time, Zane made the executive decision to stay the night and head out at dawn when it seemed like the storm wouldn't let up before midnight. A storm this bad would have driven Sidewinder far out to sea to escape it so it would take some time for her to return.

Nick seemed to be doing all right, so Ash started to make a pallet on the floor long after everyone was asleep. Deuce had disappeared a while ago, saying he'd walk around hearing what he could hear.

"What are you doing?" Wyatt's whisper made him jump.

"Sleeping," Ash murmured back. "You should be doing that too."

"On the floor?"

Ash shrugged in the darkness. "No more beds."

Wyatt was quiet for a long moment, the only other sounds were the storm outside and Nick's soft snores. "You can share with me."

Ash froze. "What?"

Wyatt coughed a little. "I mean, I know I'm a guy but if you don't mind about that then you can share with me. We could fit."

Ash debated for all of four seconds. He padded quietly over to Wyatt's bed and crawled in with him, lying on his side and stretching out. "For the record," he whispered. "I actually prefer that you're a guy."

"Good," Wyatt said, a smile evident in his voice.

===

Zane awoke with a start when a hand clamped over his mouth. A lamp flared above him and Deuce's face came into focus. Deuce put a finger to his lips and whispered, "Zombies outside the hostel."

Zane rolled up to a sit and started putting his boots on. "What time is it?"

"Just before dawn," Deuce said as he woke Digger up in the same manner, ducking when Digger took a swing at him. Deuce caught Digger's fist and threw it back at his chest. "Get up, we have company."

"How's Nick?" Zane asked as he stood and grabbed his coat.

Deuce pressed his lips together and shrugged. "He needs to sleep for a week and eat something decent."

Zane snorted softly as he buckled on his brace of pistols. He'd slept in his knife sheaths. He nodded at Digger and the three of them crept next door where Ash was helping Nick out of bed. Barnum paced back and forth in front of the door, growling low and nonstop.

"How you holding up, bud?" Zane curled a big palm around the back of Nick's neck and ducked his head to meet the man's eyes.

Nick tried to stand up straight but winced slightly and curled an arm over his stomach. "Good," he said with a crooked smile.

Zane patted his cheek then raised an eyebrow at Wyatt. "You?"

Wyatt nodded. "I'm okay."

"Handy with a gun?" he asked.

Wyatt shrugged a shoulder. "I won't shoot any of y'all or myself by accident if that's what you're wondering."

Zane pulled a pistol from his belt and handed it over. "Aim for anything that looks rotting."

Wyatt nodded solemnly.

Ash squeezed his arm. "Build 'em then shoot 'em."

Wyatt managed a thin smile.

Zane glanced at Deuce. "How many?"

"When I came to wake you up, it was five out front and at least six around the side in the alleyway. There are more around back now," Deuce answered.

"Do we know if Sidewinder's back to port?"

Deuce shook his head.

Zane checked his remaining pistol, his gaze darting around his men and his mind churning. Two injured. Surrounded by automatons. No guarantee the ship would even be at the docks when they arrived.

As far as near impossible odds went, this one felt grim. Zane could tell by the dark expressions on everyone's faces they felt the same sense of unease filter through their skin and settle into their bones. Holing up in this dank hostel almost seemed the better option rather than facing down a horde of undead bots on the slime-coated backstreets of the city.

Zane rolled his shoulders back and forced a slow smile Ty would've been proud of. "We plow a path, gentlemen. Get back to the ship and use her cannons to send every last one of these undead motherfuckers to the scrap heap."

"Aye, captain," came four responses.

Wyatt drew himself up and nodded, his face pale but his hands steady.

Zane led the little group down the main stairs, the old wood creaking under their boots. The hostel owner met them at the bottom with a palm up to stop them. He was carrying an impressive shotgun in the other hand.

"There's a door in the back room."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I came in that one last night."

The man shook his head. "There's another door. Leads to the building next door which used to be a cobbler. Go through there and out their side door into the far alley. It'll give you about a twenty yard head start."

Zane frowned at the gun. "What are you going to do?"

The man chambered a round and held the gun against his chest. "Defend my property. Go."

Tingles ran over Zane's body at the fire in the man's eyes. He squeezed the man's shoulder in thanks and made a mental note to return someday and bring him whatever money or food the man needed. People like him were why he and Ty and the rest of Sidewinder did what they did.

Robin Hood of the clouds.

But if what Wyatt had told them yesterday was correct, their lives were all about to get that much harder if the Baron was aiming for a power grab.

They managed to get into the next building and to the far alley before they heard gunfire behind them. Zane shoved the others ahead of him. "Go! Head for the docks. Do _not_ stop for any reason."

Digger, who had Nick's arm around his shoulders, nodded and held up his mammoth double-barreled gun. His black eyes sparked with something delightedly lethal as he hustled Nick into the alleyway and toward the main road. Deuce ducked out after them, pistols in each hand and a grim look on his face.

Ash hung back as Wyatt passed them both. "I can help you."

Zane shook his head. "Help him. Get Wyatt to the ship in one piece. Without him, we can't stop these monsters."

Ash swallowed and rolled his eyes. "Said goodbye to Ty yesterday. Saying goodbye to you now." He touched two fingers to his brow. "It's been an honor, captain."

Zane grinned and touched his brow. "Same to you, pirate. Get."

Ash darted into the alley, his slender form and dark clothes blending into the shadows. He had a hand on Wyatt's arm as they hit the end of the alley and disappeared around the corner. Barnum trotted after them, then stopped and trotted back to Zane. He rumbled and stood next to Zane's leg, his body gleaming in the early morning light.

Zane smiled down at him and rubbed his head. "Thanks, bud."

Barnum growled and rolled through a long stretch.

Zane strolled to the end of the alley, listening to the gunfire peppering the early morning dawn. The sun broke through the clouds, chasing away the fog and illuminating the sodden city in all her glittering glory. The cobbles even gleamed clean, their mud and filth washed away for the time being.

Zane reached the corner and peered around it, taking note of the herd of zombies around the front of the hostel. The staccato punches of bullets hit the door and the walls, shattering windows and eliciting return fire from inside. Several zombies were already crumbled to the ground and Zane smiled.

He stepped out from the building, aimed, and fired in rapid succession, hitting four of them in the head before they noticed he was there. His final two bullets struck two in the back, pitching them forward but not destroying them.

Barnum roared and charged, leaping on the nearest zombie with a crunch of metal on metal. Metal claws flashed in the light as he swiped the decaying skin off the skeleton frame and ripped bone from wire connectors.

Zane held his ground as the zombies turned on him, his ears picking up a growing thrum of a massive engine behind him. He pulled a third, much smaller, gun from his coat, squeezing off shots as they opened fire on him.

Two bullets grazed his arm. Something hot and sharp sliced across his cheekbone. Barnum roared again and attacked one of the firing zombies. A bullet punched through Barnum's shoulder, sending him skidding across the cobbles in a shower of sparks.

Zane bit off a curse and pulled the trigger. A massive boom shook the air. A cannonball whistled overhead, slamming into the main group and scattering them like bowling pins.

He spun around, squinting up at the massive black masthead of Sidewinder as she hovered directly overhead, violating every airspace code in the union. But he didn't give a shit. Ladders dangled from the decks, his men already climbing them and getting Nick and Wyatt onboard.

They would be safe.

His ship, his _Ty_ , had returned for them.

Something small, hard, and hot struck him in the back, causing him to stumble forward. He cried out and grabbed his stomach as he fell to his knees. Zane pulled his hand away from his belly, frowning in confusion at the red staining his palm. Red spread across his shirt followed swiftly by burning hot pain that stole the breath from his lungs and sent him to the rain-washed streets.

He rolled to his back, the cannon fire sounding distant and hollow even though the belly of the great ship hovered overhead. Zane wondered if Ty had ever realized that, from this view, Sidewinder resembled an ark coming to save her flock from the great flood of zombies rolling and tumbling across the earth like a plague.


	27. So Shall It Be

**_ONE WEEK LATER_ **

"What are you two doing?" Ty thumped down the stairs into the armory.

Zane and Nick glanced at him then went back to securing pistols to hips and knife sheaths to wrists.

"I'm still the captain of this tub, aren't I?" Ty grabbed Zane's arm. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Heading back to Switzerland," Zane answered shortly. "We've turned course. If we have to fight our way in, we will."

"Yeah I saw the course change," Ty snapped. "You both should be in bed. _You_ ," he pulled on Zane's arm, "were shot in the back."

"Passed right through me," Zane answered in a calm voice. "Didn't hit anything vital. I'm fine."

Ty huffed and pointed at Nick. "And you were beaten within an inch of your life."

"I'm okay, Ty," Nick said. The swelling had gone down on his face considerably, leaving his freckled skin more mottled with bruising and small cuts than anything else. He limped as he moved and favored his left arm quite a bit, but his expression was hard and determined. "I have to get Kelly. A week is too long. Who knows what they've..." he trailed off with a throat-clearing cough as he looked away, frowning at the cuff he was buckling around his wrist. A muscle on his jaw feathered.

Ty watched the two men, his resolve pulled between concern for his lover and best friend and the need to go rip the city apart in search of the Baron and Kelly.

Zane paused and slid his palm around Ty's neck. "If I lay in bed any longer, I'm going to shoot holes in the ship."

Ty gasped. "You wouldn't dare."

"He would," Nick said. "And I'd join him." He picked up an ornate shotgun and slung it over his shoulders. He cut an impressive silhouette. "Ty, I'm getting Kelly with or without your help."

Ty rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic." He grabbed a brace of pistols and an extra ammo belt. "Do you have a plan?"

"The armada's moving in on the city, but they haven't had much luck getting through the defenses," Zane answered as he followed Ty up the stairs. "All ships under the Baron's command have been put on alert for our ship."

"So...is that a no?" Ty paused at the main deck.

Zane's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled behind his mask. "That's a no." He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Put yourself in Nick's shoes, baby. It's a miracle he made it a week."

Ty growled at him and stalked off. He knew Zane was absolutely right, and if the situation were reversed, Ty wouldn't have made it a day let alone an entire week.

He headed down the length of the main deck, pausing when a flash of white caught his attention up ahead. Cecily stood on the top of the masthead, her synthetic fur flattened back by the prevailing winds. Her bright eyes focused ahead of them as if she knew they were headed back to find Kelly. He'd never paid much attention to the weasel. As long as she didn't get in his way or damage the ship in any fashion, he couldn't care less.

However, now, as he watched her perch on the very top of the masthead, his heart tugged. Everyone, without fail, underestimated Kelly. Small and all elbows, people assumed he was weak and easy. In truth, he was as dangerous as a cornered feral cat if you got on his bad side. Wicked fast, nimble, and with a mind that was always processing several steps ahead, he came out on top nearly always. Ty had nothing but respect for the man and was grateful he had someone like Nick by his side.

Now Kelly was gone, and a palpable absence blanketed the ship. The dark wood felt darker. The clouds pressed in more as if they knew Sidewinder's ball of sunshine with the magic eyes was missing from her rigging.

Ty made his way to the front of the ship and leaned on the railing. He whistled softly and Cecily turned at the noise. She spotted him, eyed him for a minute, then carefully climbed down to his outstretched hand. Once seated on his shoulder, she hunkered down, her gaze returning to the clouds parting to either side of the ship. Her weight was oddly comforting as he watched the masthead slice through the sky.

"I thought it was supposed to be a parrot on your shoulder, captain."

Ty glanced at Elias, raising his eyebrow. "You're out of bed, too?"

"You run a pirate ship, not a hostel, captain," Eli said with a wink. He leaned on a crutch, the brace around his left leg squeaking a little as he shifted. "We heading back to the Baron?"

"Aye," Ty said. "Find Kelly."

"You think he's still alive?"

Ty nodded. "The Baron wanted him specifically for something. He wouldn't take him just to kill him. At least not until he's done with him." His stomach lurched at the thought that the Baron might be done with Kelly; that he'd gotten information or whatever he needed from Kelly and had already disposed of him.

Eli's hand curled over Ty's shoulder and squeezed. "He wouldn't kill Kelly without Nick seeing it. He'd make a show of it."

Ty nodded, anger lancing through his chest and burning through his veins. Morbid and horrifying, but true and the only thing he could hold onto as they returned to the city.

 Three hours later, right as they sighted land, the comm crackled, armada calls bursting through the copper boxes all over the ship in a tangle of alarmed voices. Cannon fire shook the air, the smell of burnt flesh and wood coating the wind. Ty pushed his maps to one side and smacked a box open.

"One at a time!" he yelled.

Eli snorted softly as he eased himself into a chair. He folded his arms over his chest as the door opened and Zane came in followed by Nick. Both men frowned at the box as the sound died off.

"What's happening?" Zane asked.

"Baron's taken over the summit," came a crackled reply. "He's holding the summit attendees hostage and taken over any airship he can get his hands on."

Elias cursed softly. Ty stared at Zane while the voice continued.

"We've lost two ships to the fighting. We've taken out several of theirs but we have no way of knowing how many he has."

"What is he asking for?" Ty asked without looking away from Zane.

The response was a long time coming. "He wants full control of the summit."

The comm crackled in static and a new voice spoke. "He also wants Sidewinder. He's tripled the bounty on your heads and thrown in a bonus if the ship is delivered to him intact."

Nick snorted. "Of course he has." He met Ty's gaze evenly. "We fly right up to his front door. Say hi in person."

"And if he doesn't have Kelly with him?" Ty asked.

Nick's eyebrow twitched and his face hardened. "He'll have Kelly with him. He won't be able to resist gloating."

Ty blew out a breath.

"Have a better idea?" Zane asked softly. His voice was free of accusation as if he genuinely hoped Ty had a different plan. Maybe even a plan that included rescuing Kelly, killing the Baron, and getting away intact.

But Ty had no such plan. He shook his head. Cecily chirped softly and pressed her head to his cheek. He scratched her neck thoughtfully. "Set course for the cathedral. We'll go to ground there. Tell the armada to form a wall around the city. Nothing flies out unless it's one of ours or refugees. Everything else is target practice."

"What about on the ground?" Elias asked.

Ty scrubbed his hands over his face. He was an air pirate, not a revolution leader. This isn't what he wanted for his men, for him and Zane. He wanted quiet nights in the skies and the occasional crazy airship battle.

He _wanted_ to be done.

"Send word to the dockmasters to let any citizen board the docked ships. Fill them to capacity before letting them fly. Tell them we'll be checking and if we find out they aren't to capacity or they're charging fees for escape then we'll drop them from a great height."

Elias laughed softly. "Pirate Grady and his threats to drop people."

Ty flipped him off. He closed the comm and looked at Zane. "We seek out the Baron. We get Kelly." His gaze switched to Nick. "Getting Kelly to safety is priority. Killing the Baron is secondary."

Nick's face was etched in stone but he nodded.

Ty turned to Elias. "You're staying on the boat. I need you and Deuce to guard Wyatt and the ship."

Elias made a face. "I owe some zombies a few bullets."

Ty grinned at him. "You'll get your shot, I swear it."

==

A half an hour later, six pairs of boots hit the cobblestone plaza in front of the massive cathedral. Ty glanced at Nick as the ropes lifted away. His expression hadn't changed from one of pure stone, but fear flashed through his ivy eyes when he looked up at the massive facade of the great cathedral.

Ty held his hat to his head as he looked straight up at the black underbelly of his pride and joy. Sidewinder pulled up into the sky, maintaining her position as a point of rescue for anyone who needed it. He had a feeling he'd be returning to an armory full of refugees.

War was coming.

He pointed at Zane. "After this is over."

Zane nodded once, his eyes near black. "After this is over," he repeated in a softer tone. His fingers brushed over Ty's arm as he moved past, pulling a gun from its holster.

Anticipation coated the empty streets, fear coating the silent air as they moved through the city. The cathedral was mere blocks from the summit building, and they reached it with ease that would shock any novice street fighter. Maybe even make them a little cocky.

All it did was make Ty uncomfortable. And he could tell by the shifting of everyone else and darting eyes, that the rest of the group felt the same way.

"Owen," Ty hissed. "Hear anything?"

Owen crouched behind a barrel and checked his gun. "His zombie bot chatter is too noisy. I can't hear anything specific over them."

"Smart," Digger said. "He probably has at least one tuned to you, though."

"Knows exactly where we are," Ash said.

Ty growled in frustration. "Fuck this bullshit." He stood and strode out of the alley, putting himself in plain sight of the front of the grand hall where the summit was supposed to happen. "Liam! Quit hiding behind your goddamn zombies, you slimy son of a bitch."

"What a mouth on you, Tyler," the Baron's voice drifted down from a second floor balcony. "You kiss your mother with it?"

"Jealous?" Ty folded his arms and arched an eyebrow.

"Hardly," Liam said in a bored tone. "What do you think of my little coup?"

"Taking over a technology summit." Ty shrugged lazily. "I've seen better."

Liam smiled slowly. "I do enjoy our little chats, darling. It's a shame I have to kill you."

Ty hummed and drew a pistol. "You can try, cupcake."

"Oh I'll do more than try, love." Liam's voice grew dangerously low, a tone in it scraping across Ty's bones and filling him with a sense of dread.

The front doors of the great hall opened and more of the automaton minions clumsily exited, their motions sharp and jerky. They filled the front portico, pouring down the steps like tin soldiers in haphazard lines. Ty heard Digger cussing behind him and the shuffle of footsteps. Moments later, familiar heat blanketed Ty's back.

"Taking on the Baron on your own, doll?" Zane asked in an amused tone.

"Better than waiting. Nice of you to join me."

Zane chuckled softly.

"What's the plan, boss?" Digger asked.

"Kelly?" Nick breathed in shock.

Ty's attention snapped to the front doors and ice flew through his veins. Kelly stood in the doorway, eyes blazing bright blue and dressed entirely in black. His face bore no expression when his gaze landed on the group of pirates.

Nick started forward but Ty grabbed his arm. "Kelly!"

Kelly stared at Nick, no recognition in his eyes. No attempt to break free. He leveled a gun at Nick and tilted his head to one side.

"See my new pet?" the Baron purred as Julian and Preston took up flanking positions around him. "He's the latest model. I'm making so many more like him."

Cameron appeared behind Kelly, dressed identically, a gun leveled at the pirates and a smirk on his face.

The Baron leaned forward over the railing. "Children, if these pirates so much as twitch toward you, me, or any of the our army, you shoot to kill."

Cameron's smile grew. Kelly's expression remained unchanged.

The Baron smiled at Ty. "These two were the best in their class and, together, make the most lethal weapon on the planet. Kelly just took some...persuading."

"What did you do to him?" Nick struggled against Ty's grip, tendons popping on his neck and a flush stealing over his skin. "Kelly!"

"Yell all you want, Nicholas, but he has no idea who you are. We divested him of anything that would keep him from doing his job."

Ty's stomach plummeted. "Fuck."

"Kelly!" Nick yelled. "Kelly, it's me. It's Nick. Kels, please...please remember..." his voice caught and he trembled in Ty's arms.

Kelly blinked slowly but gave them no indication he recognized any of them.

"We need to get out of here," Ty growled in an undertone. This battle was lost before they even landed. Getting Kelly back would take so much more than a smash and grab.

"What?" Nick protested. "No. We can't leave Kelly."

"That isn't Kelly," Zane hissed. "The Baron won't kill him, but we won't get him this way." He pulled his sleeve away from a mobile comm and muttered into it.

"I'm not leaving him," Nick said. He brought his elbow up toward Ty's face, but Ash grabbed it and twisted Nick's arm behind his back.

"Nick," Ash spoke directly into Nick's ear. "Don't get yourself killed today. That guy up there...Kelly...will shoot you without hesitation. That's what the Baron wants."

Nick gave an anguished shout and Ty's heart splintered into a dozen pieces.

A gun fired and the cobbles at their feet shattered, chips flying in the air. Ty stared at Kelly, who stared back, emotionless.

"Monkey, come on, please...It's me," Nick said, his voice losing its force. Ash pulled him backward.

The Baron's smile dripped with glee and triumph. "You take a single shot at me or anyone here, and he won't miss. You know what an expert marksman he is."

Ty's body went cold. Kelly's spectacular eyesight had always given him an inhuman advantage when it came to sighting targets. He'd never seen the man miss from any distance.

"Get back to the ship," Ty said as the zombies started toward them. "Go!"

"Kelly!" Nick yelled, his voice full of desperation, as Ash tugged him backward. Digger grabbed Nick's other arm and dragged him away.

The clockwork zombies surged toward them, their movements more refined and less jerky. Faster. Keener.

Updated.

Improved.

"Gods..." Ty breathed. "Run!" He fired into the oncoming hoard and followed his men into the alley. A bullet pinged the wall as his head passed under a window. Even without looking back, he knew Kelly had fired the gun.

==

"Contact the Armada," Ty barked as he strode across the deck, rage surging through him.

"Ty..." Zane followed.

"If the Baron wants a war," Ty snarled. "We'll give him a fucking war."

"Ty, what about Kelly?" Nick asked in a hard voice. "We go after the Baron like that, he might kill Kelly."

Ty put both hands on Nick's shoulders and met his gaze evenly. "He clearly wanted Kelly for something specific. He's not going to kill him just because a bunch of pirates start lobbing cannonballs at his doorstep." The corner of his mouth ticked up but the effect was more conniving and lethal than humorous.

Nick's jaw feathered and his eyes filled with fire.

Ty moved a hand to the side of Nick's neck, his voice turning almost gentle. "He's one of our own. We'll get him back."

"You can't promise that, Ty," Nick said quietly. "He didn't even know who we were....who I was..." He took a shuddering breath.

"You're right," Ty murmured. "But I _can_ promise we'll die trying."


	28. A Parting Mist

_Switzerland: Eleven Years Ago_

"What are you doing up here?" Nick pulled himself up the last few rungs of the ladder and rolled gracelessly onto the floor of the ancient belfry.

Kelly looked over his shoulder, an impish smile pulling at his lips. "I like tall places. I can see forever."

"You'd live on rooftops if you could." Nick ducked through the ancient beams and made his way over to the shadowed corner where Kelly had made a nest of some sort. "Bird."

Kelly laughed quietly and waited until Nick had settled down on the pile of blankets before crawling into his lap. He wound his long arms around Nick's neck and grinned at him. "How many nicknames are you going to come up with for me?"

Nick shrugged as he ran his hands up and down Kelly's sides. Now that he was allowed to touch and leer and be affectionate, he couldn't get enough of Kelly's warmth, Kelly's hands, Kelly's lips, Kelly's body.

_His Kelly_.

"I'll probably just stick with Kels and Monkey. I'll forget anything else."

Kelly laughed, the sound seeping into the ancient room and getting lost in its timbers. He leaned over and kissed Nick, his arms tightening and his knees squeezing Nick's hips. Nick's mouth opened immediately and his arms tightened. Kelly leaned to one side as they kissed and Nick followed the motion, rolling them over and down onto the pile of blankets until he was stretched out over Kelly's lean body.

"Why'd we wait so long to do any of this?" Kelly grumbled against Nick's mouth.

Nick smiled and nipped Kelly's lower lip. "We probably have some time to make up for, don't we?"

Kelly's hips rocked upward, and Nick groaned. His hips pressed down and Kelly's eyelashes fluttered. His eyes brightened, the blue and green taking over and driving the black from them. They were the most goddamn beautiful thing Nick had ever seen.

"Nick..." Kelly gasped, his fingers clawing at Nick's shirt. His hands found Nick's skin and his fingers dug in, tracing stripes across Nick's back.

Nick hissed and mouthed down Kelly's throat, nipping at the skin and sucking a mark just under Kelly's collarbone. His hands found Kelly's hipbones and he pressed Kelly to the floor, holding him in place as he rocked his hips again.

Kelly cursed and struggled, his nails scraping down Nick's spine and sliding under the band of Nick's pants. "Too many clothes."

Nick smiled against Kelly's skin and pushed up. "Should probably fix that." He reached behind him and pulled his shirt off.

Kelly grinned. "Hell yeah." He shimmied out of his clothes, ripping something but not stopping to care.

Nick inhaled sharply at the lean body stretched out before him. Kelly had always been the skinniest of them, but that did not mean he was the weakest. Hard muscle wrapped around his bones, trapped under smooth skin littered with scars and the occasional freckle. Nick leaned over and kissed Kelly's hipbone.

"A tattoo would look good here," he said with a nip to punctuate his point.

Kelly gasped. "I'll remember that."

Nick kissed across Kelly's stomach and up his sternum to his neck. Kelly writhed under him, his breathing growing more erratic as Nick's weight rolled over his body. Hot skin snagged and brushed together. His fingers dug into Nick's flesh and his legs wrapped around Nick's hips.

Nick kissed him long and deep and thoroughly, his heart pounding so hard, he believed everyone in the cathedral could hear it.

"Nick, please," Kelly whined. His hips bucked again and he trailed his fingers down Nick's face.

Nick propped himself on one elbow and licked his lips. "Are you sure?"

Kelly nodded, his fingertips tracing Nick's mouth. "I love you," he whispered.

==

Nick snapped awake as if someone had slapped him in the face. His heart thundered against his sternum and his hands shook as he swallowed the aching sob that wanted to claw out of his throat. The images from his dream slowly dissipated, replaced with the more nightmarish pictures of a soulless Kelly standing on stone steps with a gun aimed at Nick's face. Lifeless, beautiful eyes that didn't recognize him.

Nick sat up and glanced at the tiny clock on his worktable. He'd slept maybe an hour at the table down in his workshop. He hadn't been able to bring himself to return to their cabin. Their bed felt foreign and so empty it physically hurt.

He rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, digging his nails into his scalp until his skin prickled with pain. He couldn't wait any longer. Not for Ty to come up with a plan. Not for the Baron to summon them. Not for someone else in the armada to have to make the choice between Kelly's life and the life of one of their own.

Cecily chirped from the table. She'd seemed to intrinsically know what'd happened because she'd stuck by Nick's side without fail. If he hadn't built her himself, Nick would've sworn the weasel had become flesh and blood instead of wires and synthetic fur. She poked his arm with her nose and smushed her face against his sleeve. He mustered a thin smile at her and scratched her head.

"I need to go find him," Nick said softly.

Cecily pulled her face away and climbed up to his shoulder, burrowing her nose in his hair and digging her claws into his shirt.

"You're coming with, I take it."

A chirp.

Nick looked around the shop. Clockwork bugs either fluttered about or lay curled up as if dead. His clockwork owl, still miraculously working after all these years, blinked at him but didn't move from its perch. Pieces of the zombie automaton lay strewn on a far shelf. Tracking globes, gears, and other mysterious devices lay scattered around the shop - shiny things Kelly brought home for Nick after every excursion.

His heart hurt. The ache settled into his bones and wrapped around his lungs. Breathing burned and only served to remind him that this was actually _real_ and _happening._

He cleared his throat and grabbed his satchel, filling it with a few tools, a handful of spider bombs, and other spare parts that could be used for various things. He stuffed a spare shirt into the pocket and closed the flap.

The last item he grabbed was his gun as he stole out of the workshop and headed down in the darkness toward the skiff.

Ty would understand.

He'd be angry, but he'd understand.

The ship thrummed through the night sky, silent on all decks except for the watch high in the crow's nest. But Nick knew how to use the clouds for cover as he slipped the skiff out of its mooring and let the machine glide away from the ship and into the clouds. The little sails caught the wind and rode it away from the dark beast that was Airship Sidewinder.

Nick watched the ship disappear ahead of him, her hulking silhouette blending in with the black sky until he couldn't pick it out any longer. Cecily curled tighter to his throat and chirped softly.

He waited another few minutes, letting the cold air wake him further and letting Sidewinder get far enough ahead so she wouldn't notice when he turned on the engines.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in the direction of his mates and his ship. "But I have to get him."

Nick hit the engines and turned the skiff back in the direction of the Baron. Back into hell.

Back to Kelly.

===

Black overshirt.

Dark coat.

Dark pants.

Black gun holster.

Bronze gun with intricate gearwork along the barrel and a slot on the muzzle filled with clear liquid.

Dark goggles.

He frowned at the items on the perfectly made bed. Was this his room? He couldn't remember. Everything was too bright in the middle and too fuzzy around the edges. His head pounded and he reached up to rub his temple, noticing in an almost detached fashion that his hand was shaking. Silvery scars wrapped around his wrist from the base of his palm to partway up his forearm.

He should know where those came from.

But he couldn't remember.

His brain was a fog and he frowned harder as the headache spiked in a sharp pain behind his eyes.

"Get dressed. The headache will go away shortly." A voice filtered down from the ceiling. It was familiar but he couldn't place it.

His hands moved of their own accord even though he couldn't remember consciously deciding to obey the voice. He reached for the shirt and pulled it over his head, wincing as the cloth rubbed over cuts and scrapes on his shoulders. Where did those come from?

He couldn't remember.

He reached for the pants, idly frowning at the black boots on the ground. For some reason, he hated the idea of putting on shoes.

But he couldn't remember why.

_Monkey, come on, please..._

The anguished tone drifted through his cotton-filled mind and he froze, staring at the shoes harder as if the shiny, black leather could give him a clue as to what was happening.

"Get dressed."

He grabbed the pants, his fingers ceasing their trembling as they moved with practiced ease. Pull on the pants. One leg. One leg. Slide up over thighs covered in scars and hips with a...

He paused as he caught a glimpse of dark ink peeking out from the band of his undergarment. He looked around the room and spotted a mirror over a sink on the far wall. He kept his head down as he padded across the room on still-bare feet and gazed at the reflection.

Brilliant white-blue eyes stared back at him, glowing from the tan of his face.

A face he sort of recognized but not entirely.

_Kels..._

He bowed his head and turned on the water, giving whoever was watching him the impression he was just washing his face and hands. His brain spun through snatches and flickers of color and sound. Things he knew he should know but couldn't grasp onto long enough to examine them.

_Green eyes._

Not his eyes. His eyes were swirls of brilliant blue with rings of white and cracked pupils. His eyes could see in the dark and long distances. His eyes were special.

Whose were green? The man at the city had green eyes.

_Freckles._

_Bands and swirls of tattoos across hot skin._

_A crooked smile._

He leaned forward slightly so he could see the reflection of his hip in the mirror. A clockwork heart tattoo sat just inside his hipbone. The word _mine_ scrawled underneath in messy, yet familiar, handwriting.

_You have no idea what this does to me..._

A growl against his skin. Lips and teeth dragging over the heart tattoo. The images moved faster, pushing at the faint breaks in the fog. A face. A face that he knew. A face that wasn't his own but was _his_. His forever.

The man at the city. The man who'd begged and pleaded with him to _remember_.

_Nick_.

 

**\- End -**


End file.
